m  - 1 0 


Bulletin  No.  14,  New  Series. 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

DIVISION  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

AX  ACCOUNT  OF  CICADA  SEPTENDECIM,  ITS  NATURAL  ENEMIES 
AND  THE  MEANS  OF  PREVENTING  ITS  INJURY, 


A  SUMMARY  OF  THE  DISTRIBUTION  uF  THE  DIFFERENT  BROODS. 


BY 


WASHINGTON: 


GOVERNMENT   PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1898. 


DIVISTON  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


Entomologist :  L.  O.  Howard. 

Assist.  Entomologists :  C.  L.  Marlatt,  Th.  Pergande,  Frank  Benton. 

Investigators :  E.  A.  Schwarz,  H.  G.  Hubbard,  D.  W.  Coquillett,  F.  H.  Chittenden. 

Assistants:  R.  S.  Clifton,  Nathan  Banks,  F.  C.  Pratt,  August  Busck. 

Artist:  Miss  L.  Sullivan. 


i 


I 


Bulletin  No.  I  4,  New  Series,  Div.  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 


Frontispiece. 


Transformation  of  Cicada  septendecim. 


THE  HELIOTYPE  PRINTING  CO.,  BOSTON 


EXPLANATION  OF  FRONTISPIECE. 


Fig.  1.  Pupa  of  Cicada  septendecim  as  it  arises  from  the  ground,  side  view. 

2.  Pupa  of  Cicada  septendecim  as  it  arises  from  the  ground,  dorsal  view. 

3.  Pupa  of  Cicada  septendecim  as  it  arises  from  the  ground,  with  the  forming 

Cicada  beginning  to  issue  through  a  rent  along  the  middle  of  the  thorax. 

4.  Forming  Cicada  in  the  straight  or  extended  position. 

5.  Forming  Cicada  in  the  hanging  position,  lateral  view. 

6.  Forming  Cicada  in  the  hanging  position,  ventral  view. 

7.  Forming  Cicada  in  the  clinging  position,  lateral  view. 

8.  Forming  Cicada,  dorsal  view,  with  the  wings  beginning  to  inflate. 

9.  Forming  Cicada  in  the  flat-winged  position. 

10.  Forming  Cicada  in  the  roof- winged  position,  and  final  colors  becoming  fixed, 

11.  Side  view  of  complete  Cicada,  with  final  coloring. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/pecicadaOOunit 


Bulletin  No.  14,  New  Series. 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

DIVISION  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


\\  \i 'COUNT  OF  CICADA  SEPTENDECIM,  ITS  NATURAL  ENEMIES 
AND  THE  MEANS  OF  PREVENTING  ITS  INJURY, 


TOGETHER  WITH 


A  SUMMARY  OF  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  BROODS. 


BY 


C.   J j.  M  ARLATT,  M.  S., 

FIRST  ASSISTANT  ENTOMOLOGIST. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING  OFFICE. 
1898. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Division  of  Entomology, 
Washington,  D.  C,  May  1,  1898. 

Sir:  The  periodical,  or  seventeen-year,  Cicada  lias  a  peculiar  interest 
in  addition  to  its  economic  importance,  in  that  it  is  distinctly  American 
and  has  the  longest  life  period  of  any  known  insect.  Economically,  it 
is  chiefly  important  in  the  adult  stage  from  the  likelihood  of  its  injuring 
nursery  stock  and  young  fruit  trees  by  depositing  its  eggs.  Bulletin  8, 
old  series,  of  this  division,  treated  of  this  insect,  but  is  now  both  out 
of  print  and  out  of  date.  Since  its  publication  in  1885  a  quantity  of 
new  facts  have  been  obtained  bearing  on  the  long  subterranean  life  of 
the  insect  and  other  facts  relative  to  its  habits  above  ground,  as  well  as 
a  considerable  amount  of  data  bearing  on  the  distribution  of  the  differ- 
ent broods.  The  late  chief  of  the  Division,  Dr.  Riley,  always  took  a 
strong  interest  in  this  species,  and  the  Divisional  observations  and 
records  made  prior  to  June  1,  1894,  were  made  under  his  active  direc- 
tion. The  recurrence  the  present  year  of  two  important  broods  makes 
this  subject  a  timely  one  and  warrants  the  prompt  publication  of  a  new 
bulletin  on  this  insect.  This  bulletin  has  been  prepared  by  my  first 
assistant,  Mr.  C.  L.  Marlatt,  and  includes  a  detailed  account  of  the 
insect,  its  habits  and  transformations,  natural  enemies,  the  means  of 
preventing  its  injuries,  together  with  a  review  of  the  literature  and  a 
bibliography  of  the  principal  writings  arranged  chronologically.  A 
summary  of  the  distribution  of  the  different  broods  is  also  given. 

It  was  originally  designed  that  the  bulletin  should  include  not  only 
a  much  more  detailed  and  critical  account  of  the  distribution  than  is 
now  given,  but  also  a  chronological  history  of  the  different  broods,  to 
be  prepared  by  Mr.  E.  A.  Schwarz,  but  the  carrying  out  of  this  plan 
was  prevented  by  the  illness  of  Mr.  Schwarz. 

The  bulletin  is  abundantly  illustrated,  many  of  the  figures  being  new, 
and  the  distribution  of  the  broods  is  graphically  shown  by  a  series  of 
maps  prepared  by  Mr.  R.  S.  Clifton. 

I  recommend  its  publication  as  Bulletin  Ko.  14,  new  series. 
Respectfully, 

L.  O.  Howard,  Entomologist. 

Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture, 

3 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 


Summary  of  the  habits  and  characteristics  of  the  Cicada   9 

The  races,  broods,  and  varieties  of  the  Cicada   12 

A  seventeen-year  and  a  thirteen-year  race  •   12 

Relation  of  climate  to  the  races   16 

The  dwarf  periodical  Cicada   17 

The  broods  of  the  periodical  Cicada   18 

The  origin  of  the  broods   18 

The  classification  of  the  broods   20 

The  broods  appearing  in  1898   22 

Future  appearances   23 

The  distribution  of  the  periodical  Cicada   23 

Sources  of  information   23 

The  general  range  of  the  species  and  of  the  two  races   25 

The  relationship  of  the  different  broods   27 

The  range  of  the  well-established  broods,  taken  in  the  order  of  future 

appearances   29 

Brood  XVII— Septendecim— 1898   30 

Brood  VII— Tredecim— 1898    30 

Brood  XIX— Septendecim— 1899   31 

Brood  XX— Septendecim— 1900   32 

Brood  XXI— Septendecim— 1901   33 

Brood  X—  Tredecim— 1901   34 

Brood  XXII— Septendecim— 1902   34 

Brood  I— Septendecim — 1903    37 

Brood  Y— Septendecim— 1905    37 

Brood  VIII—  Septendecim— 1906   ,   38 

Brood  XVI—  Tredecim— 1906   40 

Brood  X VHI—  Tredecim— 1907   40 

Brood  IX— Septendecim— 1908    42 

Brood  II—  Tredecim— 1908   43 

Brood  IV—  Tredecim— 1909    43 

Brood  XI— Septendecim— 1910   44 

Brood  VI—  Tredecim— 1910  :   .  45 

Brood  XII—  Septendecim— 1911   46 

Brood  XIII— Septendecim— 1912   47 

Brood  XIV— Septendecim— 1913   48 

Brood  XV — Septendecim — 1914   49 

Systematic  position  and  structural  details   50 

The  mouth  parts,  or  beak   52 

The  ovipositor   54 

The  musical  apparatus   55 

The  song  notes  of  the  periodical  Cicada   57 

The  so-called  sting  of  the  Cicada   59 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

Pa<ro. 

Transformation  Ip  the  adult  stage   61 

Period  of  emergence   61 

Duration  of  the  adult  stage   63 

Method  of  emergence   63 

Cicada  huts,  or  cones   61 

The  act  of  transformation   70 

The  adult  insect  and  its  habits   71 

Numbers  of,  and  local  distribution   71 

The  food  habits  of  the  adult  insect   72 

The  Cicada  as  an  article  of  food   72 

Oviposition  and  its  effect  on  the  plant   74 

Plants  selected   74 

Result  to  the  plant  of  oviposition   75 

Method  of  inserting  the  eggs   78 

The  growth  and  hatching  of  the  eggs   80 

The  underground  life  of  the  Cicada   82 

Experimental  proofs  of  the  long  underground  life   82 

History  of  the  larval  and  pupal  stages   84 

Technical  description  of  the  different  stages   86 

First  larval  stage   86 

Second  larval  stage  ,   87 

Third  larval  stage   88 

Fourth  larval  stage   88 

First  pupal  stage   89 

Second  pupal  stage   89 

The  habits  of  the  larva  and  pupa   90 

The  food  of  the  larva  and  pupa   90 

The  location  in  the  soil   92 

The  method  of  burrowing   93 

Damage  occasioned  by  the  larvae  and  pupae   94 

The  natural  enemies  of  the  Cicada   95 

Insect  parasites   96 

Dipterous  enemies   96 

Hemipterous  enemies   97 

Hymenopterous  enemies   97 

The  parasites  of  the  eggs   98 

The  larger  digger  wasp   99 

Mite  parasites  of  the  eggs   101 

The  Oribatid  mites   103 

Miscellaneous  predaceous  mites   103 

The  vertebrate  enemies   105 

The  fungous  disease  of  the  adults   106 

Remedies  and  preventives   107 

The  general  character  of  the  problem   107 

Means  of  destroying  the  emerged  pupae  and  adults   108 

Means  against  the  Cicada  in  its  underground  life   Ill 

The  periodical  Cicada  in  literature   112 

Bibliography  of  the  periodical  Cicada   119 

Appendix  A.    Egg  transfers,  Broods  VII  and  XXII,  1885   135 

Appendix  B.    Breeding  experiments  on  the  grounds  of  the  Department  of 

Agriculture   139 

Seventeen-year  Brood  XXII,  1885    139 

Seventeen-year  Brood  VIII,  1889   139 

Appendix  C.    Dr.  Gideon  B.  Smith's  chronology  of  the  periodical  Cicada   142 

Appendix  D.    Records  for  1898  of  Broods  VII  and  XVII   146 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

Pago. 

The  transformation  of  the  Cicada   Frontispiece 

Plate     I.  Work  of  the  periodical  Cicada   10 

II.  Photograph  of  Cicada  chambers,  general  view,  taken  at  New  Balti- 
more, N.  Y.,  May,  1894    66 

III.  Two  photographs  of  Cicada  chambers,  more  enlarged  than  Plate  II, 

taken  at  New  Baltimore,  N.  Y.,  May,  1894   68 

FIGURES. 

Fig.    1.  The  periodical  Cicada,  representing  typical  form  and  dwarf  form   18 

2.  Map  showing  distribution  of  the  broods  of  the  13-year  race   25 

3.  Map  showing  distribution  of  the  broods  of  the  17-year  race   26 

4.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  XVII  and  VII,  1898    29 

5.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XIX,  1899   31 

6.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XX,  1900   32 

7.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  XXI  and  X,  1901   33 

8.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XXII,  1902   35 

9.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  I,  1903   36 

10.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  V,  1905   37 

11.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  XVI  and  VIII,  1906    39 

12.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XVIII,  1907   41 

13.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  IX  and  II,  1908    42 

14.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  IV,  1909    43 

15.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  VI  and  XI,  1910   44 

16.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XII,  1911   46 

17.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XIII,  1912   47 

18.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XIV,  1913   48 

19.  Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XV,  1914   49 

20.  Head  and  prothorax  of  Cicada,  lateral  view   51 

21.  Head  of  Cicada,  front  view,  with  right  mandible  and  maxilla  drawn  out.  52 

22.  Head  and  prothorax  of  Cicada,  lateral  view,  with  parts  separated  to 

show  structure   53 

23.  The  periodical  Cicada,  side  view,  showing  beak  and  ovipositor   54 

24.  Abdomen  of  female,  showing  ovipositor  and  attachments   54 

25.  Tip  of  ovipositor,  much  enlarged   54 

26.  Cross  section  of  ovipositor   55 

27.  The  musical  apparatus  of  the  periodical  Cicada   56 

28.  Pupal  galleries  of  the  Cicada   64 

29.  Clay  buildings  of  the  periodical  Cicada   66 

30.  Twigs  showing  egg  punctures  and  illustrating  manner  of  breaking   76 

31.  Twig  showing  scars  from  punctures  after  the  second  year   76 

32.  Cicada  scars  in  hard-maple  twigs  after  seventeen  years   77 

33.  The  egg  nest  of  the  Cicada,  showing  nature  of  wound  and  arrange- 

ment of  eggs   79 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 


i  34.  Egg,  much  enlarged,  showing  young  about  to  be  disclosed   80 

35.  Newly  hatched  Larva,  greatly  enlarged   81 

36.  First  larval  stage,  illustrating  the  larva  at  the  beginning  and  end  of 

this  stage   86 

37.  Second  larval  stage,  illustrating  the  structure  of  the  anterior  leg   87 

38.  Third  larval  stage,  illustrating  the  structure  of  the  anterior  leg   88 

39.  Fourth  larval  stage,  illustrating  the  larva  and  structure  of  the  anterior 

leg   88 

40.  First  pupal  stage,  illustrating  the  structure  of  the  anterior  leg   89 

1 1.  Cecidoniyid  egg  parasite  of  the  Cicada   97 

42.  Egg  parasite,  Lathromeris  cicadw   97 

43.  Female  Megastizus  (digger  wasp)  carrying  a  Cicada  to  her  burrow    98 

44.  Diagram  of  the  burrows  of  the  digger  wasp   98 

45.  Cicada  pruinosa  with  wasp  egg  attached  to  thorax   99 

46.  Full-grown  larva  of  the  digger  wasp  in  its  burrow  feeding  on  a  Cicada..  99 

47.  Larva  of  digger  wasp  with  anatomical  details;  pupa  of  same,  front 

and  lateral  views   100 

48.  Digger  wasp  larva  constructing  its  cocoon  .   100 

49.  Cocoon  of  digger  wasp,  with  enlarged  section  of  breathing  pore   101 

50.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Oribatella  sp   102 

51.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Oripoda  clougata   102 

52.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Oppia  pilosa   102 

53.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Pcdiculoides  ventricosus   103 

54.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Tyroglyphus  sp   103 

55.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Iphis  ovalis  '.   104 

56.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Chcyletus  sp   104 

57.  Mite  egg  parasite,  Bdella  sp   104 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  HABITS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE 

CICADA. 

The  periodical,  or  seven teen  year,  Cicada,  often  erroneously  called 
the  "  seventeen-year  locust,"  or  merely  the  "  locust" — a  term  which 
should  apply  only  to  grasshoppers1 — is,  in  the  curious  features  of  its 
life  history,  undoubtedly  the  most  anomalous  and  interesting  of  all  the 
insects  peculiar  to  the  American  Continent.  This  Cicada  is  especially 
remarkable  in  its  adolescent  period,  the  features  of  particular  diver- 
gence from  other  insects  being  its  long  subterranean  life  of  thirteen  or 
seventeen  years,  during  all  of  which  time  its  existence  is  unsuspected 
and  unindicated  by  any  superficial  sign,  and  the  perfect  regularity  with 
which  at  the  end  of  these  periods  every  generation,  though  numbering 
millions  of  individuals,  attains  maturity  at  almost  the  same  moment. 
To  the  naturalist,  familiar  in  a  general  way  with  the  peculiar  habits  of 
this  Cicada,  its  regular  periodic  recurrences  always  arouses  the  keenest 
interest  on  account  of  the  anomalous  life  problems  presented.  To  those 
unfamiliar  with  its  habits,  these  sudden  recurrences  not  only  startle 
but  often  excite  the  gravest  fears  for  the  safety  of  trees  and  shrubs  or 
even  of  annual  plants. 

In  view  of  the  damage  often  occasioned  by  unusual  insect  outbreaks, 
such  fears  are  not  unreasonable,  when,  without  warning  this  Cicada  sud- 
denly emerges  over  greater  or  smaller  areas,  filling  the  ground  from 
which  it  issues  with  innumerable  exit  holes,  swarming  over  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  making  the  air  vibrate  with  its  shrill,  discordant  notes. 
During  its  short  aerial  life  it  leaves  very  decided  marks  of  its  presence 
in  the  egg  slits  which  thickly  fill  all  the  smaller  twigs  and  branches, 
the  killing  or  injury  of  which  causes  some  temporary  harm  and  a  sort 
of  general  twig  pruning  not  especially  injurious  to  forest  trees,  but 
more  so  to  fruit  trees,  and  very  undesirable  and  disastrous  to  young 
trees  and  nursery  stock.    (See  PI.  I.) 

Following  briefly  the  history  of  the  insect,  the  young  ant-like  larva, 
hatching  from  the  eggs  a  few  weeks  later,  escapes  from  the  wounded 

^r.  Say  and  afterwards  Dr.  Fitch  rightly  suggest  that  the  name  "locust,"  by 
which  it  is  almost  universally  designated,  is  doubtless  from  its  suddenly  appearing 
in  sucb  vast  numbers  at  long  intervals  of  time,  like  the  migratory  locust  or  grass- 
hopper of  the  Orient. 

9 


10 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


limbs,  falls  lightly  to  the  ground,  and  quickly  burrows  out  of  sight, 
forming  for  itself  a  little  subterranean  chamber  or  cell  over  some  root 
let,  where  it  remains  through  winter  and  summer,  buried  from  light, 
air,  and  sun  and  protected  in  a  manner  from  cold  and  frost.  It  lives 
in  absolute  solitude,  separated  from  its  fellows,  in  its  moist  earthen 
chamber,  rarely  changing  its  position  save  as  some  accident  to  the 
nourishing  rootlet  may  necessitate  its  seeking  another.  In  this  manner 
it  passes  the  seventeen  or  thirteen  years  of  its  hypogeal  existence  in  a 
dark  cell  in  slow  growth  and  preparation  for  a  few  weeks  only  of  the 
society  of  its  fellows  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  warmth  and  brightness 
of  the  sun  and  the  fragrant  air  of  early  summer.  During  this  brief 
period  of  aerial  life  it  attends  actively  to  the  needs  of  continuing  its 
species,  is  sluggish  in  movement,  rarely  taking  wing,  and  seldom,  if 
ever,  takes  food.  For  four  or  five  weeks  the  male  sings  his  song  of 
love  and  courtship,  and  the  female  busies  herself  for  a  little  longer 
period,  perhaps,  with  the  placing  of  the  eggs  which  are  to  produce  the 
subsequent  generation  thirteen  or  seventeen  years  later.  At  the  close 
of  its  short  aerial  existence  the  Cicada  falls  to  the  ground  again,  per- 
haps within  a  few  feet  of  the  point  from  which  it  issued,  to  be  there 
dismembered  and  scattered  about,  carpeting  the  surface  of  the  ground 
with  its  wings  and  the  fragments  of  its  body.  Such  in  brief  is  the  life 
round  of  this  anomalous  insect. 

So  far  as  is  known,  other  Cicadas  appear  every  year,  usually  in  com- 
paratively small  numbers,  and  this  yearly  recurrence  has  led  to  the 
belief  that  the  larval  existence  of  these  species  is  much  shorter,  if  not 
limited  to  a  single  year.  In  the  absence  of  direct  experimental  proof, 
however,  it  may  be  true  that  all  Cicadas  have  a  long  larval  existence, 
and  the  absence  of  well-marked  broods  in  other  species  or  the  complete 
breaking  up  or  scattering  of  these  broods,  so  that  individuals  emerge 
practically  every  year,  have  erroneously  been  taken  to  indicate  a 
much  shorter  term  of  underground  life.1 

If  we  can  not  satisfactorily  explain  the  reason  for  the  long  larval  life 
of  the  periodical  Cicada  or  the  conditions  which  led  to  the  origin  of  this 
peculiarity,  assuming  it  to  be  abnormal,  we  can  at  least  see  certain 
advantages  coming  to  the  species  therefrom.  Among  these  are  the 
protection  from  attacks  of  parasitic  enemies,  since  we  can  hardly  con- 
ceive of  a  parasite  limited  to  this  Cicada  which  could  possibly  extend 
its  existence  over  an  equal  term  of  years.  Its  occurrence,  also,  in  over- 
whelming numbers  at  almost  the  same  moment  everywhere  within  the 
range  of  the  brood  prevents  its  being  very  often  seriously  checked  in 

'The  writer  recalls  that  in  the  summer  of  1885  a  very  large  species  of  Cicada  (C 
marginata  Say)  appeared  in  considerable  numbers  among  the  scrubby  white  oaks 
bordering  a  stream  near  Manhattan,  Kaus.,  and  lilled  the  air  with  its  very  loud  and 
discordant  vibrations;  yet,  although  familiar  with  and  a  frequent  visitor  of  these 
woods  in  earlier  and  later  years,  no  other  experience  with  this  particular  species  was 
had.  It  may  be,  therefore,  that  this  species,  which  is  more  than  twice  the  size  of  the 
periodical  Cicada,  may  have  an  even  longer  life  period. 


HABITS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS. 


11 


its  aerial  existence  by  the  attacks  of  birds  and  other  vertebrate  ene- 
mies, which  fatten  on  it  in  enormous  numbers.  For  this  species  this  is 
a  most  important  consideration,  for  it  is  naturally  sluggish  and  help- 
less and  seems  to  lack  almost  completely  the  instinct  of  fear  common 
to  most  other  insects,  which  leaves  it  an  easy  prey  to  insectivorous 
animals.  The  almost  entire  absence  of  fear  and  consequent  effort  to 
save  itself  from  danger  by  flight  or  concealment  is  apparently  a  con- 
sequence of  the  long  intervals  between  its  aerial  appearances. 

The  greatest  check  on  the  species  has  been  in  the  advent  of  Euro- 
peans on  this  continent  and  the  accompanying  clearing  of  woodlands 
and  increase  of  settlement.  The  vast  areas  in  the  more  densely  popu- 
lated East,  which  were  once  thickly  inhabited  by  one  or  the  other  of 
the  broods  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  are  rapidly  losing  this  character- 
istic, and  the  Cicada  will  doubtless  appear  in  fewer  and  fewer  numbers 
in  all  settled  districts.  A  recent  important  factor  which  is  assisting 
in  this  particular  is  the  English  sparrow,  and  it  has  been  shown  by 
Professor  Riley  and  later  observers  that  in  and  about  cities  nearly  all 
of  the  few  Cicadas  which  still  emerge  under  these  more  or  less  unfa- 
vorable conditions  are  devoured  by  this  voracious  bird. 

The  rapid  disappearance  of  the  Cicada  as  a  result  of  the  clearing  of 
forest  areas,  and  the  conditions  which  accompany  settlement,  is  notably 
shown  in  the  case  of  Brood  I  which  covers  in  the  main  a  compact  terri- 
tory in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  Eiver  in  the  States  of  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut. 

In  a  recent  letter  to  the  writer,  Mr.  George  Dimmock,  who  has  made 
a  special  study  of  this  brood  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town  of  Suf- 
field,  Conn.,  says:  "When  I  saw  them  in  1869  the  Cicadas  were  so 
abundant  that  small  bushes  and  undergrowth  in  the  rather  sparse 
woods  in  which  they  occurred  were  weighted  down  with  them.,?  In 
1886  he  was  unable  to  visit  the  region,  but  was  informed  that  very  few 
of  the  insects  appeared  that  year.  In  explanation  of  this  he  writes  : 
"The  woodland  in  the  vicinity  has  been  steadily  reduced  and  the 
Cicadas,  of  which  there  are  records  going  back  about  a  century,  seem 
to  be  dying  out.  The  owner  of  the  land  where  the  Cicadas  appeared 
(a  man  born  in  1815,  died  in  1892)  informed  me  that  the  rate  of  reduc- 
tion was  so  rapid  that  he  doubted  if  any  of  them  would  appear  in  1903." 

To  the  lover  of  nature  there  is  something  regrettable  in  this  slow 
extermination  of  an  insect  which  presents,  as  does  the  periodical 
Cicada,  so  much  that  is  interesting  and  anomalous  in  its  habits  and 
life  history.  During  the  long  periods  of  past  time  the  species  has 
recurred  with  absolute  regularity  except  as  influenced  by  notable 
changes  in  the  natural  topographical  conditions  and  the  despoliation 
of  forests  which  has  followed  the  path  of  white  settlement.  It  is  inter- 
esting, therefore,  in  thought  to  trace  the  history  of  this  species  back- 
ward, taking  as  time  measures  its  periodic  recurrences,  until  in 
retrospect  it  is  possible  to  fancy  its  shrill  notes  jarring  on  the  ears  of 


12 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


the  early  colonists  or  listened  to  in  the  woodlands  bordering  the  ocean 
by  the  still  earlier  discoverers  and  explorers.  Still  more  remotely  one 
can  picture  its  song  causing  wonderment  to  the  savage  Indians  who 
attributed  to  it  baleful  influences,  and  yet,  less  dainty  than  their  white 
followers,  used  the  soft,  newly  emerged  Cicadas  as  food,  or  further  back 
in  time  when  it  had  only  wild  animals  as  auditors.  With  these  long- 
time measures  our  brief  periods  of  days,  weeks,  mouths,  and  years 
seem  trivial  enough. 

THE  RACES,  BROODS,  AND  VARIETIES  OF  THE  CICADA. 

*  •  *  J 

Much  obscurity  must  always  attach  to  the  past  history  of  this  insect 
and  the  origin  of  its  peculiar  habits,  and  notably  the  causes  and  con- 
ditions which  have  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  long  underground 
existence  and  the  equally  extraordinary  regularity  in  time  of  emergence 
at  the  end  of  this  period.  Explanations  may,  however,  be  suggested 
for  some  of  its  peculiarities  as  presented  in  its  life  at  the  present  time — 
as,  for  example,  the  origin  of  the  two  distinct  races,  one  with  a  17-year 
period  and  the  other  with  a  13-year  period,  with  both  of  which  a  small 
variety  occurs,  and  the  existence  of  a  multitude  of  distinct  broods 
occupying  the  same  or  different  territory  and  appearing  in  different 
years  but  with  absolute  regularity  of  periods. 

A  SEVENTEEN- YEAR  AND  A  THIRTEEN-YEAR  RACE. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  solving  the  problem  of  the  broods 
of  this  insect  and  their  geographical  limits  was  removed  by  the  dis- 
covery of  the  existence  of  two  distinct  races — namely,  one  requiring 
seventeen  years  for  its  development  and  limited  geographically,  in  a 
general  way,  to  the  northern  half  of  the  range  of  the  species,  and  the 
other  requiring  but  thirteen  years  for  its  development  and  covering 
the  southern  half  of  the  range  of  the  species. 

This  interesting  and  very  important  fact  was  first  discovered,  it  seems, 
by  Dr.  D.  L.  Phares,  then  of  Woodville,  Miss.,  who  announced  the  13-year 
period  for  the  southern  broods  in  a  local  paper — the  Woodville  (Miss.) 
Republican,  May  17,  1845.  This  paper  having  only  a  local  circulation, 
the  significance  of  this  discovery  was  lost  sight  of,  and  probably  never 
came  to  the  attention  of  naturalists;  and  it  was  not  until  1868,  when 
Dr.  B.  D.  Walsh  and  Prof.  0.  V.  Riley  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion 
and  published  in  a  joint  article,  in  the  American  Entomologist,1  a  mass 
of  accumulated  observations  bearing  thereon,  that  the  13-year  period 
for  the  Southern  broods  came  to  be  generally  accepted. 

In  Professor  Riley's  first  report  on  the  insects  of  Missouri,  published 
the  following  year  (1869),  the  joint  article  just  referred  to  was  reproduced 
substantially  without  change,  except  for  a  revision  of  the  classification 
of  the  broods,  based  on  data  obtained  chiefly  from  a  very  valuable 

1  Vol.  I,  pp.  63-72,  December,  1868. 


A  SEVENTEEN- YEAR  AND  A  THIRTEEN- YEAR   RACE.  13 


unpublished  monograph  entitled  "  The  American  locust,"  etc.,  by  Dr. 
Gideon  B.  Smith,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

This  manuscript  paper,  on  the  authority  of  Professor  Riley,  was  com- 
municated to  him  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Morris,  of  Baltimore,  some  four  months 
after  the  publication  of  the  existence  of  the  13-year  race  by  Walsh  and 
Riley,  but  in  time  for  use  in  the  preparation  of  the  article  for  the  First 
Missouri  Report.  In  it  the  existence  of  the  13-year  Southern  race, 
occurring  in  several  broods,  is  fully  recorded  by  Dr.  Smith  in  connection 
with  the  use  of  the  specific  name  u  tredecim."    (See  Appendix  C.) 

After  the  existence  of  the  13-year  Southern  race  was  again  brought 
into  prominence  by  Walsh  and  Riley,  Dr.  Phares  published  an  article 
iu  the  Southern  Field  and  Factory,  Jackson,  Miss.,  April,  1873,  in 
which  he  called  attention  to  his  earlier  publication,  cited  above,  where 
he  seems  to  have  controverted  the  belief  that  there  is  no  13-year  brood, 
evidently  entertained  up  to  that  time  by  Dr.  Smith,  with  whom  Dr. 
Phares  was  in  correspondence,  and  also  to  an  article  published  May  5, 
1858,  in  the  Republican,  where  he  used  the  title  "Cicada  tredecim." 
Dr.  Smith  later  evidently  accepted  the  conclusions  of  Dr.  Phares  and 
introduced  them  in  his  last  revision  of  his  manuscript  memoir,  which 
Professor  Riley  saw  and  used.  To  Dr.  Phares,  therefore,  belongs  the 
honor  of  having  made  the  discovery  of  the  13-year  period  for  the 
Southern  broods.  Nevertheless,  but  for  the  independent  work  of  Walsh 
and  Riley  the  knowledge  of  the  facts  might  have  been  long  lacking, 
and,  in  the  non publication  of  Dr.  Smith's  monograph,1  would  have  failed 
of  the  abundant  proof  on  which  they  now  rest.  The  race  name  of  tre- 
dectm  for  the  13-year  broods  was  suggested  by  Walsh  and  Riley  with- 
out knowledge  of  its  earlier  use  by  Dr.  Phares.  The  latter's  early  articles 
in  the  Republican  are  lost  altogether,  the  author  himself  not  being 
able  to  recover  them  in  later  years,  and  the  credit  for  the  name  tredecim 
for  the  13-year  race,  following  the  customary  rules,  should  go  to  Walsh 
and  Riley. 

The  discovery  of  the  13-year  Southern  race  was  of  vast  assistance 
in  clearing  up  the  confusion  which  had  attended  the  study  of  the  dif- 
ferent broods  of  this  insect,  and  enabled  Walsh  and  Riley  to  separate 
some  sixteen  distinct  broods,  three  of  which  belong  to  the  tredecim 
race,  and  later  enabled  Professor  Riley,  with  the  aid  of  Dr.  Smith's 
paper,  to  increase  the  number  of  tredecim  broods  to  seven  and  the  total 
of  the  broods  to  twenty-two,  twenty-one  of  which  the  records  of  subse- 
quent appearances  have  proven  to  be  valid. 

Dr.  Smith's  remarks  in  his  manuscript  chapter  on  geographical  tribes 
and  districts  present  the  status  of  the  17-year  and  13-year  races  very 
clearly.    He  says : 

There  are  two  divisions  or  tribes,  differing  from  each  other  only  in  the  periods  of 
their  lives;  the  one  and  much  the  larger  division  living  seventeen  years,  and  the 

lA  summary,  with  extracts,  of  this  manuscript  made  by  Professor  Riley  is  the 
writers  source  of  information  on  this  valuable  paper,  which,  while  containing  much 
error  and  wrong  inference,  yet  indicates  careful  study  and  accurate  observation. 


14 


THE   PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


other  thirteen;  hence  the  impropriety  of  the  specilic  name  septendecim.  *  *  * 
The  anatomy  of  the  insects  of  both  divisions  is  precisely  the  same,  but  septendecim 
does  not  of  course  apply  to  the  Southern  division,  whose  lives  are  but  thirteen  years. 
Shall  we  call  the  latter  Cicada  tredecim?  Why  there  is  this  difference  in  the  periods 
of  lives  of  the  two  tribes  we  can  not  explain.  It  is  not  the  climate  that  causes  it, 
as  a  moment's  rellection  will  prove.  If  that  were  the  cause  the  difference  would  be 
more  gradual.  For  example,  in  northern  New  York  they  would  have  been,  say,  seven- 
teen years;  in  Pennsylvania,  sixteen;  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  fifteen;  in  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee,  fourteen,  and  in  South  Carolina,  etc.,  thirteen  years  in 
completing-  their  existence.  But  that  is  not  the  case.  The  difference  of  years  takes 
place  abruptly,  on  and  about  the  line  of  34°  and  35°  of  north  latitude,  on  the  north 
side  of  which  the  period  is  seventeen  years  and  on  the  south  thirteen  years. 

While  Dr.  Smith  is  hardly  justified  in  the  last  statement,  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  the  17-year  race  is  northern  and  the  13-year  race  is 
southern.  The  territory  of  the  two  races  is  graphically  shown  in  figs. 
2  and  3,  and  is  described  in  detail  and  mapped  for  all  the  broods  in  a 
later  section. 

In  this  bulletin  the  two  forms  of  the  periodical  Cicada  have  been 
designated  as  "races,"  adopting  the  position  taken  by  Professor  Eiley 
and  the  majority  of  the  writers  on  this  insect,  rather  than  considering 
them  to  be  distinct  species,  as  is  held  by  some  specialists.  Professor 
Kiley  and  others  opposed  the  idea  of  their  being  specifically  distinct 
not  only  because  of  their  practical  identity  in  general  characteristics 
and  habits,  but  also  on  the  ground  of  external  structure,  no  material 
difference  in  this  respect  having  been  noted  between  the  two  races, 
although  it  was  known  that  the  individuals  did  not  cross  when  they 
appeared  together.  Dr.  Walsh  was  very  firmly  of  the  opinion,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  they  represent  two  distinct  species,  yet  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Darwin  he  described  the  13-year  race  as  an  incipient  species,  to  which, 
for  convenience,  it  is  desirable  to  give  a  distinctive  name.1  His  pub- 
lished views  on  the  subject,  given  in  a  posthumous  paper,  are  quoted 
below.2  Eeferring  to  the  impossibility  of  distinguishing  species  in  cer- 
tain genera  by  a  mere  comparison  of  the  perfect  specimens,  he  says : 

Upon  the  same  principle  I  strongly  incline  to  believe  that  the  17-year  form  of  the 
periodical  Cicada  (C.  septendecim  Linn.)  is  a  distinct  species  from  the  13-year  form 
(C.  tredecim  (Walsh  and  Riley3)  Riley),  although  it  has  been  impossible  for  me,  on 
the  closest  examination  of  very  numerous  specimens,  to  detect  any  specific  difference 
between  these  two  forms.  It  is  very  true  that  the  13-year  form  is  confined  to  the 
more  southerly  regions  of  the  United  States,  while  the  17-year  form  is  generally,  but 
not  universally,  peculiar  to  the  Northern  States ;  whence  it  has  been,  with  some  show 
of  plausibility,  inferred  that  the  13-year  form  is  nothing  but  the  17-year  form 
accelerated  in  its  metamorphoshs  by  the  influence  of  a  hot  southern  climate.  But, 


1  See  Index  to  Missouri  Entomological  Reports,  Bull.  6,  U.  S.  E.  C,  p.  58. 

2  American  Entomologist,  Vol.  II,  p.  335. 

'Taking  the  ground  that  Dr.  Phares  can  not  be  credited  with  the  race  name 
''tredecim"  on  account  of  the  ephemeral  character  of  the  journal  in  which  he 
employed  it,  the  credit  should  go  to  Walsh-Riley,  since  the  article  in  the  American 
Entomologist  of  December,  1868,  where  it  was  next  suggested,  was  a  joint  or  edi- 
torial one,  as  is  sanctioned  by  Professor  Riley  himself  in  the  Bibliography  of  Eco- 
nomic Entomology,  Part  II,  p.  61,  No.  474. 


A  SEVENTEEN- YEAR  AND  A  THIRTEEN- YEAR  RACE. 


15 


as  these  two  forms  interlock  and  overlap  each  other  in  various  localities,  and  as  it 
frequently  happens  that  particular  broods  of  the  two  forms  come  out  in  the  same 
year,  we  should  certainly  expect  that,  if  the  forms  belonged  to  the  same  species, 
they  would  occasionally  intercross,  whence  would  arise  an  intermediate  variety  hav- 
ing a  periodic  time  of  fourteen,  fifteen,  or  sixteen  years.  As  this  does  not  appear 
to  have  taken  place,  but,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  a  pretty  sharp  dividing  line 
between  the  habits  of  the  two  forms,  without  any  intermediate  grades  of  any  con- 
sequence, I  infer  that  the  internal  organization  of  the  two  forms  must  be  distinct, 
although  externally,  when  placed  side  by  side,  they  are  exactly  alike.  Otherwise, 
what  possible  reason  could  there  be  for  one  and  the  same  species  to  lio  under  ground 
in  the  larva  state  for  nearly  seventeen  years  in  one  county  and  in  the  next  adjoining 
county  to  lie  under  ground  in  the  larva  state  for  scarcely  thirteen  years?  I  presume 
that  even  the  most  bigoted  believer  in  the  old  theory  of  species  would  allow  that, 
if  it  can  once  be  proved  to  his  satisfaction  that  two  apparently  identical  forms  are 
always  structurally  distinct,  whether  in  their  external  or  their  internal  organization, 
they  must  necessarily  be  distinct  species. 

The  reasons  urged  by  Dr.  Walsh  give  a  strong  basis  of  probability 
to  the  theory  of  the  specific  distinctness  of  the  two  races,  and  particu- 
larly the  fact  that  where  the  broods  overlap  there  seems  to  be  no  inter- 
breeding. Dr.  Walsh's  position  has  been  recently  upheld  by  Mr.W.  H. 
Ashmead,  who  states  that  in  a  very  careful  examination  of  the  material 
in  the  National  Museum  he  has  observed  small  but  constant  differences 
between  the  two  races  in  the  shape  of  the  last  ventral  segment  of  both 
the  male  and  the  female. 

For  the  present  purpose,  however,  it  seems  wiser  to  consider  the 
13-year  broods  as  representing  a  race  merely,  or  an  incipient  species, 
as  suggested  by  Walsh,  for  the  reason  of  the  absolute  resemblance  in 
practically  every  feature  of  structure,  coloration,  and  habit,  in  the  two 
forms,  which  exhibit  the  single  important  point  of  difference  repre- 
sented by  the  four  years'  variation  in  the  length  of  their  subterranean 
lives. 

While  in  the  matter  of  interbreeding  they  may  be  distinct,  as  the 
records  seem  to  conclusively  prove,  the  two  races  represent  one  species 
for  all  practical  purposes  and  differ  in  a  very  striking  maimer  from  all 
other  species  of  Cicada.  One  race  is  unquestionably  the  offshoot  of 
the  other,  the  original  differentiation  being  probably  caused  by  some 
variation  in  climatic  conditions. 

It  is,  perhaps,  a  hopeless  task,  and  at  best  only  a  matter  of  conjec- 
ture to  attempt  to  explain  the  phenomenon  of  what  is  practically  the 
same  insect  requiring  in  one  part  of  the  country  seventeen  years  for 
its  underground  development  through  its  preliminary  stages  and  in 
another  section  thirteen  years,  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  while,  in  the 
main,  the  two  sections  are,  respectively,  northern  and  southern,  yet  at 
the  point  of  juncture  the  broods  of  the  two  races  overlap.  That  the 
17-year  period  does  not  depend  so  much  on  the  greater  severity  of  the 
northern  winters  is  evident,  protected  as  the  insect  is  by  the  depth  of 
its  burrows,  and  the  natural  explanation  is  that  the  longer  period  of 
warmth  in  the  South  hastens  the  development  of  the  insect  or,  in  other 
words,  that  the  difference  in  the  length  of  the  warm-growing  period, 
20110— No.  L4  2 


16 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


during  which  the  insect  can  thrive  and  increase  in  size  in  the  southern 
half  of  its  range  enables  it  to  go  through  its  development  in  tour 
years  less  time  than  in  the  North,  where  shorter  summers  and  conse- 
quently shorter  periods  of  growth  occur.  The  chief  objections  to  this 
theory,  but  not  necessarily  controverting  it,  are  those  made  by  Drs. 
Smith  and  Walsh  in  the  quotations  given.  The  problem  is,  however,  a 
very  interesting  one.  and  some  light  may  be  thrown  upon  it  by  the  out- 
come of  the  experiments  described  under  the  head  following. 

RELATION  OF  CLIMATE  TO  THE  RACES. 

The  anomaly  presented  of  two  distinct  periods  for  the  completion  of 
the  adolescent  stages  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  exhibited  by  the  13-year 
and  17-year  races,  and  its  apparent  basis  in  climate  led  Professor  Riley 
to  institute  some  carefnl  experiments  in  transferring  the  eggs  of  the 
13-year  race,  collected  in  various  Southern  States,  to  different  localities 
in  the  North,  and  conversely,  eggs  of  the  17-year  race  collected  in  the 
North  to  localities  in  the  South,  to  determine  the  actual  influence  of 
temperature  or  whether  the  13-year  race  would  maintain  its  normal 
period  in  the  North  and  the  17-year  race  in  the  South.  The  object  of  the 
experiment,  in  other  words,  was  to  determine  whether  the  difference  in 
time  of  development  between  the  two  races  is  really  one  of  climate  and 
temperature  only  or  whether  a  fixed  characteristic  has  been  acquired, 
not  subject  to  much,  if  any,  modification  with  changing  temperature 
conditions.  That  the  separation  was  orginally  caused  by  differences 
in  climate  in  different  parts  of  the  range  of  the  species  can  not  be 
doubted,  but  the  fact  that  the  two  races  often  overlap  in  the  adjoining 
territory  of  their  respective  ranges  would  seem  to  indicate  that  this 
time  period  has  become  in  the  course  of  ages  a  rather  permanent 
feature. 

The  most  elaborate  experiments  in  this  direction  were  instituted  in 
the  summer  of  1885  in  connection  with  the  joint  appearance  that  year 
of  the  13-year  Brood  VII,  which  returns  this  year,  and  the  17-year 
Brood  XXII,  which  next  returns  in  19013. 

In  some  earlier  experiments,  made  in  1881  with  the  13-year  Brood 
XVIII,  the  eggs  distributed  were  in  such  condition  that  it  was  doubt- 
ful whether  they  ever  hatched,  and  the  experiment  came  (o  nothing. 
With  the  later  experiments,  however,  all  possible  precautions  were 
observed  not  only  to  collect  the  egg-bearing  twigs  at  the  right  moment 
and  to  distribute  them  in  fresh,  healthy  condition,  but  to  see  also  that 
they  were  properly  placed  under  suitable  trees  and  that  a  record  was 
made  in  each  instance  of  the  exact  locality.  Futhermore,  most  of  the 
transfers  were  kept  uuder  observation  for  a  time  to  see  that  the  eggs 
actually  hatched  and  the  larvae  entered  the  soil  in  their  new  situations. 

Therecord  of  these  transfers  is  given  in  detail  in  the  report  of  the 
Entomologist  in  the  lieport  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1885 
(pp.  254-257).  So  far  as  the  records  relate  to  the  experiment  of  1885 
this  data  is  reproduced  in  Appendix  A. 


THE  DWARF  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


17 


Should  the  period  of  development  of  the  13-year  race  be  uninflu- 
enced by  the  colder  and  longer  winters  of  their  new  location,  the 
insects  having  survived,  the  adults  should  appear  during  the  present 
summer.  If,  however,  the  greater  cold,  and  especially  the  longer  win- 
ters, be  the  cause  of  the  longer  period  of  the  northern  broods  we  may 
not  expect  the  adults  to  emerge  from  these  plantings  of  eggs  for  two, 
three,  or  perhaps  four  years.  It  is  hoped  that  the  persons  who  were 
intrusted  with  these  experiments  will  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  adults 
during  the  present  and  the  following  three  years. 

With  the  17-year  race  (Brood  XXII),  which  was  transferred  to  vari- 
ous points  in  the  South,  careful  watch  should  also  be  kept  during  the 
present  summer  and  the  following  four  summers  for  the  emergence  of 
representatives  of  this  northern  brood. 

It  seems  improbable  that  the  term  of  development  should  be  entirely 
changed  in  a  single  generation ;  but  that  the  transfer  in  question  may 
influence  development  to  the  extent  of  accelerating  the  emergence 
in  one  case  and  retarding  it  in  the  other  for  a  year  or  more  may  be 
confidently  expected.1 

THE  DWARF  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

Ill  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  13-year  and  17-year  races  of 
the  Cicada,  it  is  interesting  to  note  also  that  in  both  races  the  insect 
occurs  in  two  distinct  types,  viz,  a  large  form  and  a  small  form, 
the  former  comprising  the  bulk  of  the  individuals  of  the  brood  and 
the  latter  more  rare  and  often  unobserved.  The  existence  of  these 
two  types  was  commented  upon  as  early  as  1830  by  Dr.  Hildreth,  of 
Marietta.  Ohio,2  and  was  especially  remarked  in  the  great  Cicada  year 
1868.  The  typical  larger  Cicada  (fig.  1,  A)  measures  on  an  average  lh 
inches  from  the  head  to  the  tip  of  the  closed  wings  and  expands  over  3 
inches.  The  underside  of  the  abdomen  is  of  a  dull  orange- brown  color, 
and  in  the  male  four  or  five  segments  are  of  the  same  color  on  the 
back.  The  smaller  form  is  rarely  more  than  two-thirds  the  size  of 
the  larger,  and  usually  lacks  altogether  the  light  abdominal  markings, 
although  they  are  sometimes  represented  on  the  edge  of  the  segments 
beneath. 

The  small  form  (fig.  1,  B)  was  described  in  1851  as  a  distinct  species, 
Cicada  casshiii,  by  Dr.  J.  C.  Fisher.3  The  contention  that  it  represents 
a  distinct  species  was  urged  particularly  on  the  ground  that  there  exists 
a  variation  in  the  genitalia,  but  this  variation  has  since  been  shown  by 
Professor  Riley  not  to  be  constant,  and  specimens  are  to  be  found  in 
both  sizes  which  present  the  same  structure  in  these  parts.  In  view  of 
this  fact,  and  that  they  always  occur  together  in  the  same  brood,  the 
specific  importance  of  the  smaller  Cicada  is  not  now  admitted,  and  it 

^he  records  for  1898  are  given  in  Appendix  A. 

2Sillimair8  Journal,  XVIII,  p.  47. 

3Proc.  Phila.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.,  Vol.  V.,  p.  272. 


18 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


is  supposed  to  represent  a  dimorphic  form  of  the  larger  and  entitled  at 
most  to  a  varietal  rank  only. 

Certain  divergences,  however,  may  be  noted  in  the  dates  of  appear- 
ance and  the  habits  of  the  two  forms.  The  larger  one  appears  some- 
what earlier,  from  eight  to  ten 
days:  correspondingly  also  the 
smaller  form  disappears  some- 
what later  in  the  season  than 
the  larger.  In  fact,  specimens 
of  the  former  have  been  found 
as  late  as  July  15  which  pre- 
sented no  appearance  of  age 
and  were  not  at  all  frayed. 
The  small  Cicadas  are  also  re- 
ported by  various  observers 
to  be  more  or  less  gregarious 
in  habit,  not  always  inter- 
mingling with  the  larger  ones, 
r  r  .  .    but  collecting  in  small  com- 

Fi«.  1.  -The  periodical  Cicada:  A,  male  of  typical  55 

form— natural  size;  c.  d,  genital  hooks— enlarged:  g,  panieS     ill     Orchards,    Or  ill 

singing  apparatus-natural  size:  B,  male  of  the  small  thickets  along  the  Streams 
form  (mmion) — natural  size:  c,  f.  genital  hooks — en-  . 

larged  (after  Riley  and  Hagen).  and  mOlSt  places.     It  lias  also 

been  noticed  that  the  males  of 
the  small  form  have  a  somewhat  different  song  note,  and  this  last  varia- 
tion seems  to  have  been  fully  confirmed.1 

The  nomenclature  of  the  species,  variety,  and  races  of  the  periodical 
Cicada  adopted  by  the  writer  is  as  follows:  The  Linnean  species, 
Cicada  septendecim,  with  the  tredecim  race  of  Walsh  and  Riley,  and  the 
dimorphic  variety  cassinii  of  Fisher. 

THE  RROODS  OF  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

The  subject  of  the  broods  of  the  periodical  Cicada  presents  a  number 
of  interesting  fields  of  inquiry,  such  as  the  consideration  of  the  origin 
of  the  broods,  their  chronological  history  and  classification,  and  their 
exact  geographical  limits  or  distribution.  These  topics  will  be  taken 
up  somewhat  in  detail,  with  the  exception  of  the  chronological  history 
of  the  appearances  during  the  last  two  hundred  years  and  accompany- 
ing voluminous  historical  records,  which,  for  reasons  to  be  later  noted, 
have  been  largely  omitted. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  BROODS. 

It  is  not  necessarily  true,  but  it  is  a  reasonable  inference,  that  in  the 
early  period  of  the  existence  of  the  periodical  Cicada  on  this  continent 
it  was  represented  by  a  single  brood.    Assuming  this  to  have  been  the 

'See  Proc.  Acad.  Sat.  Sc.,  Phil.,  Sept.,  1851,  Vol.  V,  pp.  273-275. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  BROODS. 


19 


case,  the  Cicada  would  have  appeared  everywhere  over  its  range  in  the 
same  year  and  probably  at  about  the  same  t  hue.  In  the  long  course  of 
ages,  with  the  consequent  important  changes — geographic,  climatic, 
and  topographic — this  original  brood  became  gradually  broken  up  into 
many  broods,  with  constantly  increasing  divergence  in  the  dates  of 
appearance,  so  that  at  the  present  time  nearly  every  year  has  its  brood, 
or  broods,  each  of  which  is  limited,  as  a  rule,  to  well-defined  districts, 
and  each  reappearing  at  the  proper  intervals  with  absolute  regularity. 
Of  the  upward  of  twenty  broods  which  have  been  differentiated,  most 
of  them  have  been  carefully  studied,  chronological  records  collected, 
and  the  limits  of  distribution  fairly  well  determined.  For  convenience 
of  reference,  these  broods  have  been  designated  by  Roman  numerals 
as  Brood  X,  Brood  XVII,  etc. 

The  origin  of  distinct  broods  in  an  insect  possessing  as  long  a 
developing  period  as  the  one  under  discussion  is  not  difficult  of  expla- 
nation. It  is  a  well-known  phenomenon  in  connection  with  insect  life 
that,  whatever  may  be  the  period  of  development  of  a  species,  certain 
individuals  will  often,  for  some  reason  or  other,  such  as  insufficient 
or  unsuitable  food,  unfavorable  temperature,  or  other  conditions,  be 
delayed  or  retarded,  while  others,  for  reasons  the  converse  of  the  last, 
namely,  conditions  exceptionally  favorable,  will  develop  more  rapidly 
or  will  be  accelerated  and  appear  earlier.  Therefore,  under  the  former 
conditions  we  have  a  longer  and  under  the  latter  conditions  a  shorter 
life  period. 

This  is  true  to  a  slight  degree  at  the  present  time  of  the  periodical 
Cicada,  and  especially  with  the  larger  broods  has  it  been  noticed  that 
scattering  individuals  appear  the  year  before  and  others  the  year  after 
the  great  brood  year.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine,  therefore,  that 
under  exceptional  conditions  some  of  the  earlier  appearing  individuals 
or  the  later  ones  may  occur  in  sufficient  numbers  to  establish  a  well- 
marked  peculiarity  in  this  direction  and  form  a  new  brood  appearing  a 
year  earlier  or  a  year  later  than  the  original  one.  If  in  the  long  course 
of  years  some  accident  should  happen  to  the  parent  brood  in  that 
portion  of  its  range  the  derivative  brood  might  be  left  to  hold  the 
territory  alone  or  to  become  the  predominant  swarm. 

This  explanation  is  supported  also  by  the  fact  that  it  often  happens 
that  the  broods  of  two  successive  years  occupy  contiguous  territory, 
as,  for  example,  the  13-year  Brood  VI,  which  last  appeared  in  1897,  is 
distributed  between  Vicksburg  and  New  Orleans,  or  just  south  of  the 
13-year  brood  of  the  present  year.  It  is  reasonable  to  infer,  therefore, 
that  Brood  VI  is  simply  a  strong,  well-established  colony  of  accelerated 
individuals  from  the  southern  end  of  Brood  VII,  with  a  13-year  period 
terminating  one  year  earlier  than  that  of  the  parent  brood.  The  con- 
ditions which  led  to  the  emergence  of  the  insect  below  Vicksburg  in 
twelve  years  some  time  in  the  remote  past  being  temporary,  this  portion 
of  the  old  brood  resumed  the  normal  13-year  period. 


20 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Another  marked  instance  of  the  same  kind  is  shown  in  the  relations 
between  Brood  1  and  Brood  XXII,  the  former  being-  merely  an  appen- 
dix or  a  continuation  in  a  northeasterly  direction  of  the  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  eastern  branch  of  Brood  XXII,  which  always  precedes 
Brood  I  by  one  year.  The  interrelations  of  these  and  all  the  other 
broods  are  indicated  in  the  discussion  of  the  distribution  of  the  Cicada. 

Local  or  temporary  conditions  which  have  caused  a  moderate  change 
in  the  time  of  emergence  of  the  Cicada  are  on  record,  one  notable 
instance  resulting  from  an  artificial  heating  of  the  soil  by  hot  pipes 
(see  p.  62).  A  similar  instance  is  suggested  by  Mr.  Schwarz.1  Com- 
menting on  the  slightly  earlier  emergence  of  individuals  of  Brood  YIII 
near  Harpers  Ferry,  W.  Va.,  in  1889,  in  a  small  clearing  surrounded  by 
woods,  Mr.  Schwarz  urges  that  a  clearing  made  in  the  midst  of  a  dense 
forest  forms  a  natural  hothouse,  the  soil  receiving  in  such  places  much 
more  warmth  than  in  the  shady  woods.  That  the  Cicadas  should 
appear  a  little  earlier  in  such  situations  is  not  remarkable,  and  he  sug- 
gests also  that  under  favorable  circumstances  the  Cicada  might  develop 
on  such  cleared  places  one  or  several  years  in  advance  of  the  normal 
time,  and  that  these  precursors,  if  numerous  enough,  would  be  able  to 
form  a  new  brood. 

It  is  possible  to  conceive  also  of  conditions  which  would*  result  in  the 
acceleration  or  retardation  in  the  development  of  an  entire  brood  or 
broods  of  the  Cicada,  such  as  variation  in  climatic  conditions,  geolog- 
ical changes,  or  changed  conditions  of  the  topography  of  the  country, 
including  the  character  of  the  vegetation. 

In  this  or  other  ways,  at  any  rate,  the  Cicada  has  become  broken  up 
into  a  large  number  of  distinct  broods,  often  covering  different  territory, 
but  not  necessarily  so  doing,  each,  however,  maintaining  absolutely  its 
regular  time  of  appearance. 

The  slight  but  constant  tendency  to  variation  which  has  brought  into 
existence  the  oroods  now  so  well  marked,  continued  indefinitely,  would 
so  break  up  and  scatter  the  present  broods  as  to  ultimately  obscure 
them  altogether,  and  the  overlapping  of  districts  and  the  variation  in 
time  of  appearance  would  lead  to  a  rather  general  occurrence  every 
year  of  the  periodical  Cicada  throughout  its  range,  the  long  period  for 
development,  however,  still  persisting.  Anticipating  such  an  outcome 
from  the  intermixture  and  overlapping  merely  of  different  broods,  Dr. 
Smith  (Smith  MS.)  rather  mournfully  says:  "In  those  times,  if  these 
sayings  of  mine  should  be  thought  of,  they  will  be  ridiculed  as  a  super- 
stitious legend  of  the  olden  times." 

THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  BROODS. 

The  earlier  writers  on  this  insect,  as  Prof.  Nat.  Potter,  Dr.  Harris, 
and  Dr.  Smith,  classified  the  broods  solely  according  to  the  years 
of  their  appearance.    In  Smith's  unpublished  register  every  year  is 

'  Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Wash.,  I,  p.  230. 


THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  BROODS. 


21 


taken  except  three,  which  he  supposed  would  be  filled  when  the 
region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  became  known,  and  he  gives  the 
distribution  of  twenty-one  broods  by  State  and  counties,  classified 
according-  to  races,  substantially  as  subsequently  listed  by  Professor 
Riley.1  Dr.  Asa  Fitch  introduced  a  numbering  system  for  the  different 
broods,  recording  nine  altogether  :  but  his  data  on  the  distribution  of 
the  species  and  of  the  several  broods  was  very  limited  and  altogether 
inadequate  to  make  an  accurate  survey  of  the  field  possible.  Our 
present  understanding  of  the  broods  in  this  country  is  substantially 
that  given  by  Professor  Riley  in  1869,  which  supplanted  the  Walsh- 
Riley  enumeration  of  the  year  before,  and  is  based  in  part  on  Dr. 
Smith's  manuscript  and  on  the  abundant  data  and  information  which 
Walsh  and  Riley  collected  in  1868,  when  the  joint  occurrence  of  the 
two  largest  broods,  respectively,  of  the  17-year  and  13-year  races,  gave 
especially  favorable  opportunity  for  study  and  historical  research.  In 
this  catalogue  an  entirely  new  set  of  numbers  was  given  to  the  broods. 
This  was  necessitated  by  the  fact  that  the  earlier  writers,  with  the 
exception  of  Dr.  Phares  and  Dr.  Smith,  were  unaware  of  the  existence 
of  the  Southern  13-year  race,  and  necessarily  much  confusion  of  broods 
resulted.  Of  the  twenty-two  broods  enumerated  by  Dr.  Riley  in  1869, 
subsequent  observations  have  established  the  validity  of  twenty-one, 
fourteen  belonging  to  the  17-year  race  and  seven  to  the  13-year  race. 
These  broods  vary  enormously  in  their  extent,  some  of  them  being 
represented  by  scattered  colonies,  which  perhaps  have  no  real  relation- 
ship in  point  of  origin,  and  others  covering  nearly  uniformly  vast 
stretches  of  territory  extending  over  several  States  together. 

The  broods  to  the  number  of  twenty-one,  the  facts  concerning  the  dis- 
tribution and  appearance  of  which  are  well  ascertained,  do  not  neces- 
sarily include  all  of  the  broods  of  the  Cicada  which  actually  occur  on 
this  continent.  The  scattering  examples  of  this  insect  which,  while 
very  few  in  number,  sometimes  appear  on  other  than  Cicada  years  may 
be  explained  either  on  the  ground  of  acceleration  or  retardation  of 
individuals  belonging  to  regular  broods  or  as  representing  small  or 
insignificant  broods  which  have  not  been  recognized  as  such  and  may 
be  either  broods  in  the  process  of  formation  or  of  extinction.  A  brood 
which  perhaps  comes  under  this  category  was  recorded  by  Prof.  J.  A. 
Lintner  in  his  seventh  report  (pp.  297-301)  and  was  represented  by 
scattering  individuals  of  the  periodical  Cicada  appearing  at  Tivoli, 
N.  Y.,  in  June.  1890.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Lintner,  Professor  Riley,  refer- 
ring to  this  occurrence,  says:  "I  agree  with  you  that  the  Tivoli  Cicada 
can  not  be  referred  to  Brood  VUI,  and  if  they  were  numerous  enough 
to  be  called  a  brood  they  would  form  one  hitherto  unrecorded.''  He 
mentions  also  some  additional  records  in  his  possession  "of  new  or 
doubtful  broods,'1  and  concludes:  "It  is  safe  to  say  that  we  know  now 
pretty  accurately  all  the  large  broods  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  but  it 

1  See  Appendix  C. 


22 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


is  more  than  probable  that  in  many  places  a  few  and  scattered  speci- 
mens will  appear  in  off  years  which  can  not  be  recorded  as  precursors 
or  belated  specimens  to  any  of  the  established  broods,  and  which  can 
not  properly  be  called  a  'brood.7  "    (1.  c,  p.  300.) 

Mr.  W.  T.  Davis  records1  the  occurrence  of  scattering  individuals  on 
States  Island  in  both  1890  and  1S02,  neither  of  which  is  a  Cicada  year. 
These  may  have  been  of  accelerated  or  retarded  individuals,  but  possi- 
bly represent  either  remnants  of  broods  or  insignificant  broods  not 
hitherto  recorded. 

It  may  be  mentioned  also  in  this  connection  that  all  of  the  swarms 
or  local  colonies  assigned  to  any  particular  brood,  either  of  the  17-year 
or  the  13-year  race,  need  not  necessarily  have  had  a  common  origin,  and 
quite  as  probably  came  into  existence  independently  of  each  other  or 
as  offshoots  of  distinct  broods.  This  is  especially  liable  to  be  true  of 
broods  comprising  widely  separated  swarms,  or  colonies,  as  does  for 
example  Brood  XYII  of  this  year. 

The  largest  brood  of  the  17-year  race  is  Brood  XXII,  which  appeared 
last  in  1885  and  has  been  well  recorded  over  a  wide  extent  of  country 
since  1715.  The  largest  13-year  brood  is  No.  XVIII,  and  made  its  last 
appearance  in  1891.  It  has  also  a  long  chronological  history  and  is 
well  recorded.  These  two  broods  occurred  in  conjunction  in  1868, 
which  thus  became  the  great  Cicada  year  of  the  century. 

THE  BROODS  APPEARING  IN  1898. 

The  early  summer  of  1898  will  witness  the  recurrence  of  two  broods 
of  the  periodical  Cicada,  viz,  13-year  Brood  VII,  which  is  the  second 
largest  of  the  13-year  broods,  and  17-year  Brood  XVII,  a  scattering- 
brood  occurring  in  comparatively  small  colonies  over  a  wide  extent  of 
territory,  and  therefore  not  of  great  importance. 

Brood  VII  made  its  last  appearance  in  1885.  It  extends  over  a  broad 
belt  of  the  country,  chiefly  bordering  the  Mississippi  Eiver,  but  also 
occurring  in  isolated  areas  in  adjoining  States.  The  main  belt  reaches 
from  southwestern  Illinois  and  western  Kentucky  southward,  covering 
a  large  portion  of  western  Tennessee  and  much  of  northern  and  cen- 
tral Mississippi.  There  are  numerous  outlying  colonies  extending  over 
northern  Louisiana  up  through  Arkansas  and  Missouri  and  two  isolated 
colonies  in  Georgia.  Special  interest  attends  the  recurrence  of  this 
brood  the  present  year  on  account  of  the  experiments,  referred  to  in  a 
preceding  section  and  in  Appendix  A,  concerning  the  transfer  of  eggs 
made  in  its  last  appearance  in  1885,  giviugit  supposedly  and  artificially 
increased  range. 

Brood  XVII  of  the  17-year,  or  Northern,  race  is  represented  by  com- 
paratively small  colonies  in  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
North  Carolina,  Virginia,  West  Virginia  (?),  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan, 


1  Proc.  Nat.  Sc.  Ass'u  of  Staten  Island,  Vol.  IV,  p.  15,  February  10, 1894. 


FUTURE  APPEARANCES. 


23 


and  Wisconsin.  The  colonies  reported  as  occurring  on  tlie  northern 
slope  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  of  Montana  and  Wyoming  are  prob- 
ably based  on  a  confusion  of  this  with  some  other  species  of  Cicada. 
The  distributions  of  Broods  XVII  and  VII  is  shown  in  tig.  4.1 

FUTURK  APPEARANCES. 

During  the  next  seventeen  years  broods  of  the  17-year  and  13-year 
races  of  the  periodical  Cicada  will  occur  as  follows: 


Table  of  future  appearances. 


Year. 

17-year 
race. 

13-year 
race. 

VII 

Tear. 

17-year 
race. 

13-year 
race. 

1898   

XVII 
XIX 
XX 
XXI 
XXII 
I 

1907   

XVIII 
II 
IV 
VI 
VII 

1899   

1908   

IX 

1900   

1909   

1901  

X 

1910  

XI 
XII 
XIII 
XIV 
XV 
XVII 

1902   

1911  

1903   

1912  

1904   

1913  

1905   

V 
VIII 

1914  

X 

1906   

XVI 

1915  

It  will  be  noticed  that,  as  a  rule,  a  17-year  race  and  a  13 -year  race  are 
associated  in  the  same  year.  This  is  purely  accidental,  and  in  point 
of  fact  the  same  two  broods  could  only  come  together  at  very  long 
intervals  of  time.  Taken  as  a  time  measure,  the  recurrence  of  a  joint 
appearance  of  any  one  of  the  17-year  with  any  one  of  the  13-year  broods 
furnishes  a  very  long  yardstick  in  years.  For  the  return  the  same  year 
of  two  such  broods  a  lapse  of  more  than  two  centuries  is  necessary. 
For  example:  The  great  Cicada  year  of  1868  will  not  be  duplicated 
again  by  the  joint  recurrence  of  the  same  broods  until  the  year  2089, 
when  perhaps  the  increase  of  settlement  and  the  changed  character  of 
vegetatiou  and  superficial  conditions  over  their  respective  ranges  may 
have  entirely  eliminated  them,  except  for  stragglers.  The  broods  which 
unite  in  time  of  appearance  the  present  year  were  last  in  conjunction 
in  1697  and  will  not  again  come  together  until  the  year  2119. 

THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 

In  explanation  of  the  matter  contained  in  this  section,  it  should  be 
stated  that  in  the  original  plan  it  was  intended  that  Mr.  E.  A.  Schwarz, 
who  had  long  assisted  Professor  Eiley  in  collecting  the  data  relative 
to  the  distribution  of  the  broods  of  the  Cicada,  should  prepare  a  full 
account  of  all  the  known  broods,  detailing  the  chronological  records 


1  The  records  of  occurrence  for  1898,  obtained  while  this  bulletin  was  going  through 
the  press,  are  numerous,  and  are  summarized  in  Appendix  D,  p.  146. 


24 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


on  which  they  are  established,  and  revising,  supplementing,  and  "bring- 
ing down  to  date  all  the  facts  which  have  been  accumulated  bearing 
on  this  subject,  The  carrying  out  of  this  plan  was  prevented  by  a  long 
illness  of  Mr.  Schwarz,  and  in  place  therefore  of  this  more  elaborate 
revision,  I  have  prepared  a  brief  description  of  the  different  broods, 
merely  summarizing  the  distribution  by  States  and  counties,  and 
omitting  the  voluminous  historical  and  chrpnological  records  on  which 
this  distribution  rests.  The  data  for  these  summaries  is  based  on  the 
rather  full  accounts  given  in  Bulletin  No.  8  of  this  Division,  supple- 
mented, however,  by  the  local  studies  made  by  entomologists  and 
others  in  various  States,  and  particularly  the  rather  voluminous  records, 
collated  and  classified  by  Mr.  Schwarz,  obtained  by  the  Department, 
chiefly  in  answer  to  circulars  sent  out  from  time  to  time.  The  data 
relative  to  Broods  VI  and  XV,  last  appearing  in  1897,  and  VII  and 
XVII  of  the  present  year,  is  taken  from  circulars  published  by  Mr. 
Schwarz  in  1897  and  1898,  with  such  additions  to  the  1897  broods  as 
the  records  of  that  year  made  necessary. 

It  is  sincerely  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Schwarz  was  unable  to  prepare 
the  data  of  all  the  broods  and  to  give  their  very  interesting  chrono- 
logical history.  His  long  familiarity  with  the  subject  would  have 
enabled  him  to  form  a  much  more  critical  and  correct  judgment  of  the 
value  of  the  records  bearing  on  distribution  than  could  the  writer,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  in  a  future  edition  of  this  bulletin  this  section  may  be 
replaced  by  matter  prepared  by  Mr.  Schwarz,  as  originally  planned. 

The  numbering  of  the  broods,  as  noted  elsewhere,  is  that  given  by 
Trofessor  Riley  in  1868,  and  was  based  on  the  sequence  of  their  appear- 
ance after  that  date.  This  numbering  has  been  generally  adopted  and 
it  would  be  very  unwise  to  alter  it  for  purposes  of  temporary  conven- 
ience. Brood  III  is  nonexistent,  having  been  originally  founded  on  a 
record  since  proven  to  have  been  an  error. 

Of  the  broods  as  now  accepted,  sixteen  were  separated  in  the  Walsh- 
Eiley  paper  of  December,  1868  (Am.  Ent.  Yol.  I,  pp.  68-70).  These 
broods  were  afterwards  renumbered  by  Professor  Riley,  as  elsewhere 
explained  (p.  21),  and  six  additiofial  broods  added.  The  Walsh-Riley 
Broods  I  to  XYI,  inclusive,  as  now  numbered  are  as  follows :  I,  III,  Y,  YI, 
VII,  VIII,  IX.  XII,  XIII,  XIY,  XY,XYII,  XYIII,XX,  XXI,  and  XXII. 
Of  Riley's  additions,  Broods  II,  IV,  X,  XI,  and  XYI,  and  also  XIX  for 
the  most  part,  are  based  on  Dr.  Smith's  register,1  as  the  notes  in  the 
First  Missouri  Report,  and  in  Bulletin  Xo.  8  of  this  Division  indicate. 

The  nine  broods  listed  by  Dr.  Fitch  in  1855 2  compared  with  the  broods 
as  now  numbered  are  as  follows : 

Brood  1  equals  XII,  2  equals  XX,  3  equals  VIII  and  XYIII,  4  equals 
XXII,  5  equals  YII  and  XY,  6  equals  Y,  7  equals  XVII,  8  equals  XX, 
and  9  equals  I. 


1  See  Appendix  C. 

2  First  Report,  pp.  39-40. 


DISTRIBUTION  SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 


25 


The  older  authors,  such  as  Harris  and  Potter,  gave  no  catalogue 
other  than  a  list  of  the  Cicada  years  and  localities. 

A  number  of  maps  have  been  prepared,  and  are  introduced  as  text 
figures  illustrating  (1)  the  general  range  of  the  13-year  broods,  (2)  the 
range  of  the  17-year  broods,  and  (3)  a  series  of  16-year  maps  illustrat- 
ing the  distribution  of  the  different  broods  during  the  next  sixteen 
years,  beginning  with  the  year  1898. 

The  preparation  of  these  maps  and  the  careful  listing  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  broods  by  States  and  counties  is  largely  the  work  of  Mr. 
E.  S.  Clifton  of  this  office. 

THE  GENERAL  RANGE  OF  THE  SPECIES  AND  OF  THE  TWO  RACES. 

Taking  all  the  different  broods  together,  this  Cicada  is  known  to 
occur  pretty  generally  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  east  of  the 


Fig.  2.— Map  showing  distribution  of  the  broods  of  the  13-year  race. 


Eocky  Mountains.  Xo  broods  have  been  found  in  northern  Xew  Eng- 
land, northern  Michigan,  nor  in  Minnesota;  or.  in  other  words,  it  does 
not  seem  to  occur  in  sections  in  which  the  forest  growth  is  almost  exclu- 
sively pines  or  other  conifers.  In  the  State  of  Ehode  Island  there  are 
no  positive  records  of  the  occurrence  of  this  insect,  but  since  it  occurs 
in  Connecticut  and  also  near  Fall  River  and  on  Marthas  Vineyard 
in  Massachusetts,  this  may  be  simply  from  lack  of  observation  or  the 
fact  that  the  specimens  are  few  in  number  and  not  likely  to  be  noted. 
In  the  South  it  is  not  known  in  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  although  it 
occurs  in  the  northwestern  counties  of  the  State,  but  its  absence  here 


20 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


may  be  explained  by  the  emergence  of  this  peninsula  from  the  ocean 
in  recent  geologic  times  and  also,  perhaps,  to  the  unfavorable  charac- 
ter of  the  soil  and  climate  as  a  whole.  Its  western  limits  are  central 
Colorado  and  western  Texas.  Beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  no  broods 
are  known,  with  the  exception  of  the  doubtful  brood  recorded  as  occur- 
ring along  the  northern  slope  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  of  western 
Wyoming  and  Montana,  on  the  Pacific  watershed. 

The  territory  covered  by  the  periodical  Cicada  is  graphically  illus- 
trated, in  general  view,  by  the  t  wo  maps  showing  the  range  of  the  13-year 
and  17-year  races,  respectively.  (Figs.  2  and  3).  A  brief  examination 
of  these  maps  develops  the  very  interesting  and  suggestive  fact  that  if 
superimposed  the  areas  occupied  by  the  two  races  would  rather  accu- 


Fig.  3.— Map  showing  distribution  of  the  broods  of  the  17-year  race. 

rately  fit  together  along  their  adjoining  sides  This  is  to  have  been 
expected,  but  it  is  nevertheless  remarkable  that  the  notable  extension 
northward  in  Illinois  and  Missouri  of  the  13-year  race  should  fill  almost 
exactly  a  region  little  if  at  all  occupied  by  broods  of  the  17-year  race. 
This  circumstance  has  a  special  significance  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  northward  extension  of  the  13-year  race  is  based  on  Broods  XVIII 
and  VII,  and  that  the  records  of  the  former  were  collected  largely  by 
Walsh  and  Riley  in  1868,  when  this  brood  was  in  conjunction  with  the 
great  17 -year  Brood  XXII,  and  of  the  latter  by  Riley  in  1885  when  Brood 
VII  was  also  in  conjunction  with  this  same  Brood  XXII,  the  limits  of 
which,  curiously  enough,  stop  rather  suddenly  at  or  near  the  eastern 
State  line  of  Illinois.    The  possibility  is  immediately  suggested  that 


RELATIONSHIP  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  BROODS. 


27 


the  northern  localities  assigned  to  Brood  XVIII  and  VII  in  Illinois 
and  Missouri  properly  belong  to  Brood  XXII. 

The  problem  will  be  better  understood  if  the  maps  depicting  the 
individual  territory  of  the  broods  concerned  be  examined.  The  records 
of  Brood  XXII  of  1885,  which  might  have  settled  the  question,  were,  as 
noted,  again  rendered  somewhat  uncertain  on  account  of  the  joint 
occurrence  that  year  of  Brood  VII,  although  in  general  they  seem  to 
have  confirmed  the  previous  records.  At  any  rate,  there  is  still  sufficient 
question  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  distribution  of  the  several  broods 
mentioned  to  warrant  the  taking  of  considerable  pains  to  secure  accurate 
and  full  records  of  their  distribution  on  the  occasions  of  their  next 
recurrence.  Of  Brood  VII,  it  is  hoped  that  the  true  range  will  be 
determined  the  present  year. 

Many  of  the  other  scattering  records  of  13-year  broods  northward 
of  the  general  range  of  the  13-year  race,  and  similarly  of  the  17-year 
broods  southward,  may  possibly  be  based  on  small  and  unimportant 
swarms  of  either  race  which  have  not  been  defined  as  regular  broods, 
and  occurring  in  conjunction  with  the  known  17-year  or  13-year  broods 
have  been  erroneously  assigned  to  one  or  other  of  these  broods. 

The  range  also  of  the  individual  broods  is  undoubtedly  much  greater 
than  the  limits  now  assigned,  since  the  records  are  largely  based  on  the 
notable  and  dense  swarms,  and  rarely  take  into  account  the  scattering 
individuals  which  undoubtedly  extend  over  a  much  greater  territory 
and  usually  pass  unnoticed.  An  illustration  of  this  is  given  the  present 
season  by  the  finding  of  a  few  individuals  here  and  there  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  and  in  adjacent  territory  in  Virginia,  probably  referable 
to  Brood  XVII,  although  this  brood  has  never  before  been  recorded 
as  occurring  here. 

THE  RELATIONSHIP  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  BROODS. 

A  study  of  the  maps  of  the  several  broods  emphasizes  what  has  been 
elsewhere  suggested  on  the  subject  of  their  relationship  in  point  of 
origin.  It  can  not  be  questioned  but  that  the  time  of  appearance  is 
a  more  important  consideration  in  determining  relationship  than  is  the 
distribution,  and  in  fact  the  broods  have  been  classified,  as  already 
seen,  solely  on  the  ground  of  time  of  appearance 

Considering  first  the  broods  of  the  13-year  race,  it  will  be  noted  that 
if  we  begin  our  enumeration  with  Brood  XVI  a  13-year  brood  follows 
each  year  consecutively  for  six  years.  With  the  exception  of  the  very 
doubtful  and  unimportant  Brood  X,  which  is  separated  from  the  last 
13-year  brood  by  three  years,  there  follow  seven  successive  years  in 
which  no  13-year  brood  appears.    (See  table,  p.  23.) 

The  relationship  of  the  13-year  broods  seems  to  be  as  follows: 

Brood  XVI  is  a  rather  insignificant  one,  and,  as  we  have  elsewhere 
stated,  is  undoubtedly  an  eastern  extension  or  offshoot  of  the  great 
13-year  Brood  XVIII,  which  succeeds  it.    Brood  II  is  undoubtedly  a 


28 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


section  of  Brood  XVIII  retarded  one  year,  just  as  Brood  XVI  is  an 
accelerated  swarm  of  the  same.  Both,  curiously  •enough,  represent 
eastern  extensions  of  the  parent  brood. 

Brood  IV,  separated  from  Brood  XVIII  by  two  years,  seems  to  bear 
little  relationship  to  the  latter,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  more  logical 
arrangement  consists  in  connecting  it  with  Brood  VII  through  Brood 
VI,  of  which  last  it  may  be  considered  as  an  eastern  and  northern 
extension.  Brood  VI,  as  indicated  elsewhere,  is  a  very  notable  instance 
of  the  formation  of  a  new  brood  by  what  is  undoubtedly  an  acceleration 
in  time  of  appearance  of  a  portion  of  a  larger  and  older  brood.  Its 
relationship  with  Brood  VII  is  very  marked  and  can  not  be  questioned. 

As  shown  above,  the  13-year  broods  seem  to  divide  themselves  nat- 
urally into  two  sections,  one  related  closely  to  Brood  XVIII,  and  the 
other  connected  with  Brood  VII. 

The  relationships  of  *.ho  broods  of  the  17-year  race  are  somewhat 
more  obscure,  but  here  also  it  is  seen  that  if  the  enumeration  begins 
with  Brood  XI  the  broods  follow  each  other  in  regular  succession  for 
eleven  consecutive  years.  Then,  after  a  break  of  one  year,  follows 
Broods  V  and  VIII,  and  after  another  break  of  one  year  Brood  IX, 
which  last,  however,  is  a  very  doubtful  and  unimportant  brood  and 
may  not  belong  to  the  17-year  race.  Taking  up  these  broods  in  order, 
beginning  with  Brood  XI,  their  relationships  seem  to  be  as  follows : 

The  main  body  of  Brood  XI  occupies  territory  immediately  west  of 
the  more  important  Brood  XII,  and  also  presents  a  number  of  colonies 
extending  westward  to  Colorado.  Broods  XI  and  XII  seem,  therefore, 
closely  allied  in  point  of  origin. 

Brood  XIII  presents  little,  if  any,  relationship  to  the  last  in  point  of 
location  and  distribution,  but  is  closely  allied  to  the  following  Brood 
XIV,  which  seems  a  western  and  southern  extension  of  XIII. 

Brood  XV  presents  little  relationship  with  Brood  XIV  in  point  of 
distribution  and  covers  a  very  compact  territory. 

Brood  XVII,  being  a  widely  scattered  one,  and  occurring  usually  in 
small  numbers,  does  not  seem  to  present  any  particular  relationship 
with  any  of  the  preceding  or  following  broods. 

Brood  XIX  is  local  in  distribution  and  not  very  important,  and  is 
divided  into  two  sections  by  the  territory  occupied  by  the  following 
Brood  XX,  with  which  it  thus  seems  to  be  closely  allied.  Brood  XXI 
is  very  distinctly  a  southern  extension  of  Broods  XX  and  XIX,  These 
three  broods  seem,  therefore,  to  be  closely  allied  in  their  origin,  and, 
curiously  enough,  occupy  territory  which  divides  the  two  main  sections 
of  the  great  17-year  Brood  XXII,  which  next  follows  in  regular  succes- 
sion. Brood  I,  following  XXII,  is  evidently  an  extreme  northeastern 
extension  of  the  latter. 

Brood  V,  which  follows  Brood  XXII  after  an  interval  of  two  years, 
would  seem  naturally  in  point  of  distribution  to  be  a  western  extension 
of  the  latter,  but  the  two  years'  difference  in  time  gives  it  a  rather 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  29 


independent  position.  Brood  VIII,  however,  seems  to  be  closely  allied 
to  V,  and  surrounds,  in  a  way,  the  territory  occupied  by  the  latter,  and 
also  extends  eastward  to  the  coast. 

Brood  IX,  as  already  stated,  is  very  doubtful,  the  Colorado  locality 
perhaps  being  due  to  confusion  with  some  other  species,  and  the  other 
records  perhaps  due  to  confusion  with  the  13-year  race. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  17-year  race  divides  itself  up  into 
related  broods  as  follows:  Broods  XI  and  XII;  XIII  and  XIV;  XV; 
XVII;  XIX,  XX,  XXI,  XXII,  and  I;  V  and  VIII,  and  IX. 

THE  RANGE   OF    THE  WELL-ESTABLISHED    BROODS,   TAKEN  IN  THE 
ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES. 


In  the  following  description  of  the  broods,  they  are  taken  up  in  the 
chronological  order  of  their  appearance  as  indicated  by  the  table  given 


Fig.  4.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  XVII  and  VII,  1898. 


on  page  23.  Many  of  the  maps  which  accompany  the  descriptions 
include  both  a  17-year  and  a  13-year  race;  in  other  words,  whenever 
broods  of  both  races  occur  in  the  same  year  they  are  combined  on  one 
map.  The  distribution  of  the  broods  of  the  17-year  race  is  indicated  by 
the  black  disks  and  interrogation  points,  the  latter  referring  to  doubt 
ful  localities,  and  of  the  13-year  race  by  circles  and  crosses,  the  latter 
marking  the  doubtful  records.  The  13-year  Broods  VII  and  X,  recur- 
ring, respectively,  in  191L  and  1914,  are  not  shown  on  the  maps  of  those 
years,  having  been  already  depicted  on  the  maps  for  1898  and  1901. 


30 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Brood  XVII.— Septendecim— 1898.    (Fig.  4.) 

Our  Brood  XVII  is  Brood  No.  7  of  Fitch  and  XII  of  Walsh-Kiley. 
In  Circular  No.  30,  second  series,  of  this  Division,  Mr.  Schwarz  describes 
its  distribution  as  now  known  as  follows : 

This  brood  covers  a  vast  area  from  Wisconsin  in  the  West  to  New  York  in  the 
East,  and  along  the  Allegheny  Mountains  to  North  Carolina,  but  the  comparatively- 
few  localities  on  record  are  more  widely  scattered  and  isolated  from  each  other  than 
in  any  other  17-year  brood.  It  seems  more  than  probable  that  our  knowledge  of 
the  extent  of  the  brood  is  very  imperfect,  so  that  nothing  can  be  said  at  present 
regarding  the  relation  of  this  brood  to  other  broods.  Of  the  localities  mentioned 
above,  Summit  and  Vinton  counties,  Ohio,  as  well  as  Ohio  County,  W.  Va.,  are 
probably  incorrect,  the  records  being  apparently  based  upon  stragglers  of  Brood 
XV  (1880-1897),  which  appears  always  one  year  before  Brood  XVII.  The  reported 
occurrence  of  the  periodical  Cicada  along  the  northern  slope  of  the  Big  Horn  Moun- 
tains of  Montana  and  Wyoming  is  probably  based  upon  a  confusion  with  some  other 
species  of  Cicada. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Illinois. — Douglas. 
Michigan. — Cass  (?). 
New  Jersey. — Essex. 

New  York. — Richmond  (Staten  Island),  Westchester. 
North  Carolina. — Western  portion  (no  specified  localities). 
Ohio.— Ashtabula,  Summit  (ft),  Vinton  (??). 

Pennsylvania. — Dauphin,  Lancaster,  Northampton  (and  adjoining  counties),  Phila- 
delphia (Germantown),  Westmoreland. 
Virginia. — Smyth. 

West  Virginia— Ohio  (Wheeling)  {VI). 

Wisconsin. — Columbia,  Dane,  Green  Lake,  La  Crosse,  Marquette  (?),  Sauk.1 

Brood  VII.— Tredecim— 1898.    (Fig.  4.) 

This  brood  is  Fitch's  Brood  No.  5  and  Brood  V  also  of  Walsh- Riley. 
Mr.  Schwarz  describes  its  distribution  as  now  known  (Circular  No.  30, 
second  series,  Division  of  Entomology)  as  follows: 

Of  the  various  13-year  broods  that  are  recorded,  only  two  are  of  large  extent, 
Brood  XVIII  (1881-1894-1907)  and  the  present  brood.  Both  occupy  the  Mississippi 
Valley  from  northern  Missouri  and  southern  Illinois  to  Louisiana,  but  while  Brood 
XVIII  occurs  also  in  many  other  localities  throughout  the  other  Southern  States  as 
far  east  as  Virginia,  the  present  brood  seems  to  be  confined  to  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
with  the  exception  of  a  detached  area  in  Georgia,  which,  however,  has  never  been 
confirmed  beyond  doubt.  In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, the  geographical  distribution  of  Brood  VII  has  been  discussed  and  illus- 
trated by  a  map.  Since  that  year  very  little  additional  information  has  been 
obtained.  The  only  locality  in  Indiana  (Posey  County)  rests  upon  a  record  received 
in  1885,  and  is,  in  all  probability,  not  correct.  There  is  also  a  vague  report,  received 
in  1885,  of  the  occurrence  of  this  brood  in  Saint  Clair  County,  Ala. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Arkansas.  —Arkansas,  Chicot,  Columbia,  Cross  (and  adjacent  counties),  Desha, 
Franklin,  Izard,  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Marion,  Mississippi,  Phillips,  Prairie,  Pulaski, 
Saline  ( ?),  Searcy. 

Reported  this  year  from  Burk,  Caldwell,  Macon,  McDowell,  and  Lincoln  counties, 
N.  C;  Oconee  County,  S.  C.J  Champaign  and  Delaware  counties,  Ohio;  Cecil  and 
Montgomery  counties,  Md. ;  Fairfax  County,  Va.,  and  the  District  of  Columbia.  A 
summary  of  the  records  for  1898  is  appended  to  this  bulletin. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  31 


Georgia—  Cobb  (?),  Coweta  (?),  Dekalb  (?),  Gwinnett  (?),  Meriwether  (?), 
Newton  ( ?). 

Illinois. — Alexander,  Jackson,  Macoupin,  Madison,  Perry,  Pike,  Randolph,  Scott, 
Union,  Washington  (??). 
Indiana. — Posey  ( ? 

Kentucky. — Barren  (?),  Graves,  Trigg. 

Louisiana. — Bossier,  Caldwell,  East  Carroll,  Franklin,  Madison,  Morehouse,  Red 
River,  Richland,  Washington,  West  Carroll. 

Mississippi. — Alcorn,  Amite,  Bolivar,  Calhoun,  Carroll,  Claiborne,  Coahoma,  Copiah, 
De  Soto,  Franklin,  Hinds  (and  adjoining  counties),  Issaquena,  Jasper,  Lafayette, 
Lawrence,  Lincoln,  Madison,  Marshall,  Montgomery,  Newton,  Panola,  Quitman, 
Rankin  (and  adjoining  counties),  Scott,  Simpson,  Smith,  Tate,  Tishomingo,  Webster. 


Fig.  5.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XIX,  3899. 


Missouri. — Audrain,  Boone,  Cape  Giradeau,  Christian,  Dade,  Dallas,  Douglas,  Gas- 
conade, Greene,  Hickory,  Jefferson,  Johnson,  Knox,  Lawrence  ( ?),  New  Madrid, 
Osage,  Pettis,  Perry,  Polk,  St.  Charles,  St.  Louis,  Scott,  Taney,  Texas,  Warren, 
Washington,  Webster. 

Tennessee. — Benton,  Carroll,  Chester,  Crockett,  Davidson,  Decatur,  Dickson,  Dyer, 
Fayette,  Gibson,  Hardeman,  Haywood,  Henderson,  Humphreys,  Lake,  Lauderdale, 
McNairy,  Madison,  Maury,  Obion,  Robertson,  Shelby,  Tipton,  Weakley.2 

Brood  XIX.— Septendecim— 1899.    (Fig.  5.) 

This  brood  was  fouiided  by  Professor  Eiley  in  1868  on  Dr.  Smith's 
register,  in  which  it  is  recorded  from  1797  to  1848  as  occurring  in  cer- 
tain counties  in  western  New  York. 


1  Confirmed  this  year  (1898). 

2  A  summary  of  the  records  for  1898  is  appended  to  this  bulletin. 

20110— No.  11  3 


32 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


The  confirmations  of  the  occurrence  of  this  brood  in  New  York  in 
Inter  years  are  reported  in  Bulletin  No.  8,  Division  of  Entomology. 
The  localities  in  Pennsylvania  are  based  on  later  Divisional  records. 

The  distribution,  by  Slates  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

New  York. — Cayuga  Lake,  Livingston,  Madison,  Monroe,  Onondaga,  Ontario,  Wyo- 
ming, Yates. 

P(  hnsylvania. — Allegheny,  Washington. 


Brood  XX. — Septendeeim— 1900.    (Fig.  6.) 

This  is  Fitch's  second  brood,  which  he  described  as  occurring  in 
western  Xew  York,  western  Pennsylvania,  and  eastern  Ohio,  and  is 


Fig.  6.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XX,  1900. 


Brood  XIV  of  Walsh-Riley.  Dr.  C  B.  Smith  also  gives  valuable  data 
relative  to  its  appearance  and  distribution. 

It  is  one  of  the  smaller  broods  and  seems  not  to  have  attracted  much 
attention  on  its  last  appearance  in  1883.  Ifc  covers  a  rather  compact 
territory,  in  the  main  as  described  by  Fitch,  with  the  addition  of  the 
northern  portion  of  West  Virginia. 

The  widely  separated  swarm  occurring  on  Marthas  Vineyard,  for- 
merly to  Brood  XXI  (Brood  8  of  Fitch),  undoubtedly  belongs  to  this 
brood,  and  has  been  well  recorded  since  the  time  of  Harris. 

The  swarms  in  western  Xew  York  have  not  been  given  accurate 
location,  but  they  are  supposed  to  occur  in  or  near  Chautauqua  County; 
in  fact,  a  report  of  the  appearance  of  the  Cicada  in  this  county  in  1883 
was  given  in  the  Xew  York  Herald,  but  could  not  be  verified. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  33 


The  widely  separated  swarms  listed  for  Illinois  and  South  Carolina 
are  extremely  doubtful,  the  latter  also  being:  much  too  far  south  for  the 
17-year  race,  and  both  probably  are  based  on  confusion  of  some  of  the 
annual  species  of  the  Cicada  with  the  periodical  species. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  as  now  known  is  as  follows: 

Illinois. — Whiteside  (?). 

Massach  usctis. — Duke. 

Xew  York. — Chautauqua  (?). 

Ohio. — Belmont,  Carroll,  Columbiana,  Jefferson,  Mahoning,  Trumbull. 
Pennsylvania. — Armstrong,  Beaver,  Butler.  Cambria,  Clarion.  Forest,  Huntingdon, 
Indiana,  Jefferson,  Mercer.  Snyder.  Venango.  Washington. 
South  Carolina. — Barnwell  (  f). 
West  Virginia. — Marshall.  Ohio. 


Brood  XXI. — Septendecim — 1901.    (Fig.  7.) 

In  the  main,  this  brood  (XV  Walsh-Biley)  covers  a  rather  compact 
territory,  extending  from  the  southern  part  of  West  Virginia  across 


Fig.  7.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  XXI  and  X,  1901. 


Virginia  into  Xorth  Carolina.  A  very  doubtful  record,  referred  to  this 
brood,  is  given  for  Ohio,  and  a  record  from  Loudoun  County,  in  the 
northern  part  of  Virginia,  which  seems  to  be  authentic,  but  which  may 
have  been  based  on  precursors  of  Brood  XX,  since  it  is  so  widely  sep- 
arated from  the  main  swarm. 

The  occurrence  of  a  swarm  on  Marthas  Vineyard  in  1833,  as  recorded 
by  Dr.  Harris,  would  indicate  the  existence  of  this  brood  on  that  island. 


34 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


The  records  of  subsequent  appearances,  however,  have  shown  the  date 
mentioned  to  have  been  unquestionably  an  error  for  1832,  which  refers 
the  swarm  to  Brood  XX. 
The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

North  Carolina. — Alleghany  and  Wilkes. 
Ohio.— Medina  ( ?). 

Virginia. — Bland.  Craig,  Franklin,  Giles,  Grayson,  Henry,  Loudoun,  Montgomery, 
Pulaski.  Roanoke,  Smyth. 

West  Virginia. — Greenbrier,  Monroe,  Raleigh,  Summers. 

Brood  X.— -Tredecim— 1961.    (Fig.  7.) 

The  existence  of  this  brood  rests  on  the  single  statement  of  Dr. 
Gideon  B.  Smith,  to  the  effect  that  he  was  informed  that  the  insect 
appeared  in  vast  numbers  in  parts  of  Texas  in  1849,  but  that  he  was 
unable  to  get  any  particulars.  No  confirmation  of  the  occurrence  of 
this  brood  in  Texas  was  gained  either  in  1875  or  in  1888.  Its  existence, 
therefore,  at  least  in  Texas,  is  very  doubtful. 

Dr.  IX  L.  Phares  furnishes  a  record  of  the  occurrence  of  Cicadas  in 
Louisiana  in  1875,  as  follows: 

About  the  10th  of  June,  coming  np  the  Mississippi  River  from  New  Orleans,  at 
Bayou  Sara,  I  heard  of  a  family  of  Cicadas  in  West  Feliciana  Parish,  La.,  near  the 
river  and  south  of  Bayou  Sara.  I  requested  the  gentleman  to  get  what  history  he 
could  of  them  and  send  me  specimens.  I  have  received  nothing  from  him  except 
the  specimens  I  send  herewith — all  dwarfs,  or  perhaps  a  distinct  variety. 

Dr.  Riley  says  of  these  specimens  that  they  can  not  be  assigned 
either  as  precursors  or  belated  specimens  to  any  one  of  the  recorded 
broods,  unless  to  this  Brood  X,  of  which  they  may  possibly  be  the 
eastern  outpost. 

The  records  for  this  brood,  therefore,  are  the  doubtful  one  from  Texas 
and  the  positive  one  from  Louisiana,  having  a  very  doubtful  connection 
with  the  Texas  swarm,  if  the  latter  exists. 

Brood  XXII.— Septendecim— 1902.    (Fig.  8.) 

This  is  the  largest  of  the  17-year  broods,  and  equals  if  not  exceeds 
in  extent  the  largest  13-year  brood,  namely,  Brood  XVIII,  with  which 
it  appeared  in  conjunction  in  1868.  It  is  Brood  Xo.  I  of  Dr.  Fitch 
and  XVI  of  Walsh-Riley.  It  has  been  well  recorded,  particularly  in 
the  East,  from  1715  to  1885,  the  date  of  its  last  appearance.  On  this 
year  (1885)  it  was  associated  with  the  13-year  Brood  VII,  the  second 
largest  13-year  brood,  and  the  districts  covered  by  the  two  touched  or 
perhaps  overlapped  at  several  points.  Early  in  that  year  Professor 
Riley  issued  a  circular  calling  attention  to  the  recurrence  of  these  two 
broods  and  asking  to  be  informed  of  the  localities  of  their  appearance. 
The  replies  to  this  circular  were  numerous,  and  the  present  distribution 
of  the  two  broods  is  largely  based  thereon,  supplemented,  however,  by 
all  the  old  records.  The  localities  based  on  the  latter  not  confirmed  in 
1885  are  given  as  doubtful,  except  where  there  is  no  reason  to  question 
the  record. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  35 


Throughout  the  districts  where  the  two  broods  mentioned  approached 
each  other  or  overlapped,  the  records  of  1885  are  necessarily  somewhat 
uncertain,  as  it  was  not  always  possible  to  determine  to  which  of  the 
two  broods  particular  swarms  belonged.  This  applies  notably  to  locali- 
ties along  the  Ohio  River  near  the  Mississippi  and  along  the  Mississippi 
River  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  northward:  also  the  areas  in  north- 
ern Georgia  and  Alabama.  The  records  obtained  of  Brood  VII  during 
the  present  year  should  largely  correct  the  unavoidable  errors  made  in 
separating  Broods  VII  and  XXII  in  1885. 


Fig.  8.— Map  shoeing  distribution  of  Brood  XXII.  1902. 


The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Alabama. — St.  Clair  (?). 

Delaware. — Kent,  Newcastle,  Sussex. 

District  of  Columbia. — Throughout. 

Georgia. — Banks,  Dawson,  Fannin,  Forsyth,  Franklin.  Gilmer.  Habersham,  Hall, 
Lumpkin,  Pickens,  Rahun.  Union.  "White. 

Illinois. — Clark,  Crawford,  Dewitt,  Edgar,  Edwards  (  ?),  Gallatin,  Iroquois  (1868), 
Kane  (f ).  Lawrence,  Pope,  Vermilion,  "Wahash.  "White.  Williamson  (perhaps  Brood 
VII). 

Indiana. — Entire  State  except  Howard,  Marshall,  Ohio,  Porter,  Pulaski,  and  Starke 
counties. 

Kentucky. — Barren.  Breckinridge,  Carroll.  Casey,  Daviess,  Fayette  (f),  Franklin, 
Hart  (f),  Henderson  (?),  Jefferson,  Kenton,  Lawrence  (f  t,  McLean,  Meade,  Mercer 
(1868),  Ohio,  Oldham.  Trimble. 


36 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Maryland.— Allegany,  Anne  Arundel,  Baltimore,  Caroline,  Carroll,  Cecil,  Fred- 
erick, Garrett,  Harford,  Howard,  Kent.  Montgomery,  Prince  George,  Queen  Anne, 
Talbot,  Washington. 

Massachusetts. — Bristol  (  ?  ). 

Michigan. —  Barry,  Branch,  Calhoun,  Eaton,  Genesee,  Gratiot,  Jackson,  Kalamazoo, 
Lenawee,  Livingston,  Monroe,  St.  Clair,  St.  Joseph,  Washtenaw,  Wayne. 

New  Jersey.— Burlington,  Camden,  Hunterdon,  Mercer,  Middlesex,  Monmouth, 
Morris,  Passaic  (?),  Somerset. 

New  York. — Kings,  Monroe,  Niagara,  Richmond. 

North  Carolina.— Caldwell (?),  Cherokee  (  ?),  Davie,  Lincoln  (1834),  Surry, Wake  ( ?), 
Wilkes,  Yadkin. 

Ohio.— Ada  ins,  Butler,  Champaign,  Clark,  Clermont  (?),  Columbiana,  Delaware, 
Fairfield, Franklin,  Greene,  Hamilton,  Lucas,  Miami,  Montgomery,  Pickaway,  Tike, 
Preble,  Sandusky,  Seneca,  Warren,  Wyandot. 


Fig.  9. — Map  sliowiDg  distribution  of  Brood  I,  19(K{. 


Pennsylvania. — Adams,  Bedford,  Berks,  Blair,  Bucks,  Carbon,  Chester,  Cumberland, 
Dauphin,  Delaware,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Huntingdon,  Juniata,  Lancaster,  Lebanon, 
Lehigh,  Mifflin,  Monroe,  Montgomery,  Northampton,  Perry,  Philadelphia,  Schuylkill, 
Snyder,  Somerset,  Union,  York. 

Tennessee. — Blount,  Carter,  Hamblen,  Hamilton,  James  (?),  Johnson  (?),  Knox, 
Loudon,  McMinu  (?),  Polk,  Scott,  Sevier,  Sullivan,  AVashington. 

Vermont.  — R  u  tl  a  n  <  1 . 

Virginia. — Alexandria,  Augusta,  Carroll,  Clarke  and  adjoining  counties,  Fairfax, 
Frederick,  Loudoun,  Spottsylvania  (?),  Warren,  Wythe. 

West  Virginia. — Berkeley,  Grant,  Hardy,  Hampshire  and  adjoining  counties,  Jeffer- 
son and  adjoining  counties,  Mineral,  Morgan,  Putnam  (?). 

Wisconsin. — Sauk. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES. 


37 


Brood  I. — Septendecb* — 1903.    (Fig.  9.) 

This  is  a  small  brood,  limited  for  the  most  part  to  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  River  in  the  States  of  Massachusetts  aud  Connecticut, 
with  one  colony  in  the  vicinity  of  Fall  River  separated  from  the  main 
swarm.  It  is  Brood  I  of  Walsh-Riley,  and  Brood  Xo.  9  of  Dr.  Fitch, 
who  reports  it  as  having  occurred  in  181S  and  1835.  It  was  recorded 
also  by  Dr.  Smith  from  17G7  to  1852,  and  the  genuineness  of  the  brood 
was  fully  established  in  18G0. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Connecticut. — Hartford. 

Massachusetts. — Bristol,  Franklin,  Hampshire. 


Brood  V. — SejJtendecim — 1905.    (Fig.  10.) 
This  very  compact  brood,  described  by  Fitch  as  Brood  Xo.  G  and  by 
Walsh-Riley  as  Brood  III,  covers  in  large  part  a  prairie  region  extend- 


Fig.  10.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  V.  1905. 


ing  over  portions  of  several  of  the  States  of  the  Upper  Mississippi 
Valley.  A  detached  brood  was  formerly  known  in  Pennsylvania,  but 
seems  not  to  have  been  verified  in  later  years. 

.  As  the  periodical  Cicada  is  limited  to  forest  areas,  the  broods  occur- 
ring in  prairie  districts  are  necessarily  much  broken  and  scattered,  and 
this  is  true  of  Brood  V,  which  occurs  for  the  most  part  in  small  colonies 
in  the  woods  bordering  streams. 

The  distribution  as  given  below  is  based  on  the  localities  listed  in 
Insect  Life.  Vol.  I,  p.  31,  with  such  additions  and  corrections  as  the 
last  occurrence  of  the  brood  in  1888  made  necessary. 


38 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


A  record  which  would,  if  correct,  refer  to  this  brood  was  thus  dis- 
posed of  by  Professor  Riley,  writing  in  1868: 

The  earliest  known  record  avc  have  of  the  appearance  of  periodical  Cicadas  is  in 
Moreton's  "  Memoriall,"  in  which  it  is  stated  that  they  appeared  at  Plymouth,  Ply- 
month  County,  Mass.,  in  the  year  1633.  Now,  according  to  that  date,  one  might  be 
led  to  suppose  that  this  recorded  brood  of  Moreton's  belonged  to  this  Brood  V,  as 
exactly  fourteen  periods  of  seventeen  years  will  have  elapsed  between  1633  and  1X71  ; 
hut,  strange  to  say,  we  have  no  other  records  of  his  brood  than  that  in  the  "  Mem- 
oriall," whereas  there  are  abundant  records  of  their  appearing  one  year  later  in  the 
same  locality,  ever  since  1787.  There  is  therefore  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
visit  recorded  by  Moreton  was  a  premature  one,  and  that  it  was  properly  due  in  1631. 
I  have  therefore  placed  it  in  Brood  VIII,  and  have  little  doubt  but  that  if  records 
could  be  found  these  would  prove  the  Cicadas  to  have  appeared  in  1651,  1668,  16»5, 
1702, 1719, 1736, 1753,  and  1770,  as  they  did  in  1787, 1804, 1821,  1838,  and  1855. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Illinois. — All  northern  counties  from  Mercer  southeast  to  Peoria,  to  Logan,  Shelby, 
Edgar,  including  Lee,  Dekalb,  Dupage,  Kane,  McLean,  Rock  Island,  etc. 
Indiana. — Lake,  Laporte,  Porter. 

Iowa. — Allamakee,  Benton,  Blackhawk,  Bremer,  Buchanan,  Cedar,  Chickas;iw, 
Clayton,  Clinton,  Delaware,  Dubuque,  Fayette,  Howard,  Iowa,  Jackson,  Johnson, 
Jones,  Linn,  Louisa,  Mitchell  (  ? ),  Muscatine,  Scott,  Tama,  Winneshiek  ( 1). 

Michigan. — Berrien,  Branch,  Cass,  Hillsdale,  Oakland  ( ?),  St.  Joseph,  Wayne  ( ?). 

Pennsylvania.  — Lancaster. 

Wisconsin. — Crawford,  Dane,  Grant,  Green,  Iowa,  Jen\3rson,  Lafayette  (?),  Milwau- 
kee, Richland,  Rock,  Sauk,  Walworth,  Waukesha. 

Brood  VIII.—  Septendecim— 1906.    (Fig.  11.) 

On  authority  of  Mr.  Schwarz,  our  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  this 
brood  up  to  1889  is  practically  based  upon  Dr.  Fitch's  observations  in 
1885  in  the  account  of  his  third  brood  (Brood  VI  Walsh- Riley),  since 
its  reappearance  in  1872  did  not  apparently  attract  any  attention. 
Dr.  Fitch  confused  this  17-year  brood  with  the  great  tredecim  Brood 
XVIII,  which  occurred  with  it  in  1855,  the  year  of  his  record,  and  the 
exact  dividing  line  between  the  two  broods  is  still  opeu  to  question. 

In  asking  for  reports  on  the  occurrence  of  this  brood  in  1889  Riley 
and  Howard  gave  its  extent  as  follows : 

The  region  commences  in  southeastern  Massachusetts,  extends  south  across  Long 
Island  and  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  as  far 
as  Chesapeake  Bay;  then  up  the  Susquehanna  River  in  Pennsylvania  to  a  point  a 
little  below  Harrisburg;  thence  westward  in  Ohio,  embracing  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  State  and  the  northwestern  portion  of  Kentucky,  and  then  upward 
through  southwestern  Indiana,  ending  in  central  Illinois.  It  is  possible  also  that 
there  is  an  eastward  extension  of  the  region  from  Kentucky  into  southern  West 
Virginia,  as  Cicadas  occurred  in  1855  in  the  Kanawha  Valley,  and  also  in  the  counties 
of  Buncombe  and  McDowell,  in  North  Carolina;  but  as  these  appearances  were  not 
verified  in  1872,  it  is  probable  that  they  belonged  to  Brood  XVIII,  which  is  of  the 
13- year  race. 

The  distribution  of  this  brood,  as  given  below,  is  based  on  the  above 
with  such  additions  and  corrections  as  were  gained  from  the  records  of 
1889,  Prof.  J.  B.  Smith  adding  some  records  from  New  Jersey,  Dr. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  39 


William  A.  Backout  defining  its  limits  iu  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr. 
Sell  ware  and  others  adding  various  localities. 
The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

District  of  Columbia. — Throughout. 

Georgia. — Gordon,  Habersham,  Rabun,  Towns,  Union,  White. 

Illinois. — Boone,  Jo  Daviess,  Lake,  McHenry,  McLean,  Putnam,  Stephenson, 
Winnebago. 

Indiana. — Clay,  Crawford.  Daviess,  Gibson,  Greene,  Knox,  Lake.  Lawrence,  Pike, 
Posey,  Sullivan.  Vanderburg,  Vigo,  Warrick. 

Kentucky. — Adair,  Allen,  Bath,  Boyd,  Bourbon,  Breckinridge,  Carter,  Casey,  Clark, 
Clinton,  Cumberland,  Estill,  Fayette,  Fleming,  Franklin,  Greenup,  Jackson,  Jefferson, 


Fig.  11. —Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  XVI  and  VIII,  1900. 


Laurel,  Lewis,  McLean,  Madison,  Mason,  Metcalfe,  Montgomery,  Owsley,  Powell, 
Pulaski,  Rockcastle,  Russell,  Shelby,  Trimble,  Wayne. 

M  a  ry  1  a  n  d.  — Wash  in  gton . 

Massach  usetts. — Barnstable,  Plymouth. 

New  Jersey. — Bergen,  Burlington,  Cape  May,  Gloucester,  Mercer. 
New  York. — Long  Island. 

Xorth  Carolina. — Buncombe,  Caldwell,  Haywood(f),  McDowell,  Madison. 

Ohio. — Adams,  Brown,  Butler,  Clinton,  Gallia,  Hamilton,  Highland,  Lawrence, 
Meigs,  Scioto  ( ?),  Warren. 

Pennsylrania. — Adams,  Berks,  Blair,  Center,  Chester,  Clearfield,  Clinton,  Colum- 
bia, Cumberland,  Franklin,  Huntingdon,  Lancaster,  Lycoming,  Mifflin,  Montour, 
Northumberland,  Snyder,  Union,  York. 

So  uth  Carolina. — E  dgefield. 

Tennessee. — Bledsoe,  Claiborne,  Robertson. 

Virginia. — Alexandria,  Wise. 

West  Virginia. — Kanawha.  Logan,  Wood. 


40 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Brood  XVI.— Tredecim— 1906.    (Fig.  11.) 

This  brood  was  originally  established  by  Professor  Riley  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Dr.  (1.  1').  Smith,  who  gives  in  his  register  a  record  of  its 
appearance  in  Cherokee  County,  Ga.,  in  1828,  1841,  and  1854.  Dr.  J. 
(i.  Morris  records  its  appearance  in  the  same  locality  also  in  1867. 
The  records  obtained  since  the  latter  date  have  extended  its  range 
so  that  it  is  now  known  from  four  States,  occurring,  however,  in  scat- 
tered localities,  which  may  indicate  an  incompleteness  of  the  records 
rather  than  the  nonexistence  of  the  brood  in  intervening  districts. 

This  brood  immediately  precedes  in  time  of  appearance  the  largest 
13  year  brood  known,  namely,  Brood  XVIII,  which  next  appears  in 
1007.  Brood  XVIII  occupies  the  Mississippi  Valley  as  well  as  the  South- 
eastern States,  and  lies  immediately  west  of  the  territory  occupied  by 
Brood  XVI,  the  relationship  between  the  two  being  similar  to  that 
between  Broods  VI  and  VII,  namely,  of  occupying  adjoining  territory 
and  being  separated  in  time  of  appearance  by  but  one  year. 

The  localities  for  Brood  XVI,  as  listed  by  Professor  Riley  in  1894, 1  are 
given  below.2  None  of  them  were  verified  in  1893,  but  an  additional 
and  very  doubtful  locality — Montgomery  County,  Ala. — was  reported. 

It  is  very  desirable  to  have  confirmation  of  all  the  localities  mentioned, 
and  a  careful  study  should  be  made  to  determine  more  accurately  the 
range  of  the  brood. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Alabama. — Lowndes,  Montgomery  (?). 
Georgia. — Col>b,  Cherokee. 
Tennessee. — Lincoln. 
North  Carolina. — Lincoln,  Moore. 

Brood  XVIIL— Tredecim— 1907.    (Fig.  12.) 

This  is  the  largest  of  the  13-year  broods,  and  also  the  best  recorded 
perhaps,  from  the  standpoint  of  distribution,  of  all  the  broods.  It  is 
Fitch's  Brood  No.  3,  in  part,  and  Brood  XILI  of  Walsh-Riley.  Its 
existence  has  been  known  since  1803.  Its  limits  were  most  carefully 
studied  by  Walsh  and  Biley  in  1868,  particularly  for  the  Missouri  and 
Illinois  localities.  As  has  elsewhere  been  explained  (p.  27),  it  seems 
probable  that  some  of  the  northern  counties,  at  least  of  Illinois  and 
Missouri,  listed  for  this  brood  belong  to  the  17-year  Brood  XXII,  which 
appeared  with  Brood  XVIII  in  the  year  mentioned.  Some  additional 
data  were  obtained  in  1881  and  published  in  Bulletin  No.  8  of  this 
Division,  and  the  records  were  brought  down  to  1894  in  the  circular 
issued  by  Professor  Biley  in  that  year.  The  later  records,  mostly  in 
reply  to  the  circular  just  mentioned,  considerably  modify  and  extend 

'Ann.  Rept.  Dept.  Agric.  1893,  p.  201. 

eTbe  records  on  which  the  localities  for  this  brood  are  based  are  given  in  an  edi- 
torial note  in  Vol.  V,  Insect  Life,  pp.  298-299. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  41 


tbe  range  of  the  brood.    The  relationship  of  this  brood  to  Brood  VI 
has  been  elsewhere  discussed. 
Its  present  limits  are  as  follows: 

Alabama. — Autauga,  Blount,  Bullock.  Cherokee.  Colbert.  Cullman,  Dallas,  Dekalb, 
Elmore,  Etowah,  Franklin,  Hale,  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Lamar,  Lauderdale.  Lowndes, 
Macon,  Mobile.  Montgomery,  Perry.  Randolph.  Russell,  St.  Clair. 

Arkansas. — Baxter,  Benton,  Boone,  Carroll,  Clark,  Clay,  Conway.  Crawford.  Drew, 
Franklin,  Fulton,  Garland,  Greene,  Hempstead,  Hot  Spring,  Izard,  Johnson,  Lau- 
rence, Logan,  Lonoke,  Madison,  Marion.  Newton,  Prairie.  Paulaski,  Randolph, 
Searcy,  Sebastian,  Sharp,  Stone,  Van  Buren,  Washington.  White. 

Georgia. — Campbell,  Catoosa,  Chattooga,  Cherokee.  Fulton,  Harris,  Rabun.  Rich- 
mond, Walker. 

Illlinois. — Adams,  Bond,  Cass,  Champaign,  Christian,  Clark,  Clay.  Clinton,  Coles, 
Crawford,  Cumberland,  Edgar,  Edwards,  Effingham.  Franklin.  Gallatin,  Greene, 


Fio.  12.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XVIII.  1907. 

Hamilton,  Hancock.  Hardin,  Iroquois,  Jasper,  Jefferson,  Jersey,  Johnson,  Lawrence, 
Livingston,  McLean.  Macon,  Macoupin,  Madison.  Marion,  Massac.  Monroe,  Mont- 
gomery, Morgan,  Perry,  Piatt,  Pike,  Pope,  Randolph.  Richland.  Saline,  Sangamon, 
Shelby,  St.  Clair,  Union,  Vermilion,  Wabash,  Washington,  Wayne,  White.  Will- 
iamson. 

Indian  Territory. — Choctaw,  Creek. 
Iowa. — Lee. 

Kentucky. — Carlisle,  Graves,  McCracken,  Marshall. 
Louisiana. — Bossier,  Caddo,  Claiborne,  Morehouse.  Washington. 
Mississippi. — Attala,  Clarke,  Copiah,  Franklin,  Jasper.  Lauderdale,  Leake,  Madi- 
son. Monroe,  Oktibbeha. 

Missouri— Audrain.  Barry,  Barton,  Benton,  Bollinger,  Boone,  Butler,  Callaway, 


42 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Cedar,  Chariton,  Clark,  Cole,  Cooper,  I  )a«l«-,  Dallas,  Douglas,  Franklin,  Gasconade, 
Greene,  Henry,  Howard,  Iron,  Jasper,  Jefferson,  Knox,  Laclede,  Lawrence,  Lewis, 
Linn,  Livingston,  McDonald,  Macon,  Madison,  Marion,  Moniteau,  Monroe,  Morgan, 
Newton,  Oregon,  Pettis,  Phelps,  Pike,  Polk,  Pulaski,  Ralls,  Randolph,  Ripley,  Saline, 
Schuyler,  Shannon,  St.  Charles,  St.  Clair,  St.  Francois,  St.  Louis,  Stoddard,  Stone, 
Warren.  Washington,  Webster,  Wright. 

Worth  Carolina. — ('aid well,  Cherokee,  Clay,  Graham,  Haywood,  Iredell,  Macon, 
Ma  lison,  Mecklenburg,  Swain,  Wake,  Wilkes. 

Oklahoma  Territory. — Payne. 

South  Carolina. — Aiken,  Anderson,  Chester,  Greenville,  Laurens,  Oconee,  Orange- 
burg, Pickens,  Spartanburg,  Union,  York. 

Tennessee. — Bedford,  Blount,  Cocke,  Davidson,  Gibson,  Giles,  Greene,  Hamblen, 
Hamilton,  Jefferson,  Knox,  Lawrence,  McMinn,  Marion,  Monroe,  Montgomery,  Ruth- 
erford, Sevier,  Wayne,  Williamson. 

Texas. — El  Paso. 

Virginia. — Brunswick,  Halifax,  Hanover,  Prince  George. 


Via.  13.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  IX  and  II,  1908. 


Brood  IX. —Seplendecim— 1908.    (Fig.  13.) 

This  brood  (VII  of  Walsh-Riley)  is  a  very  small  one,  and  represents 
the  extreme  western  range  of  the  species.  It  was  reported  as  occurring 
in  1857  in  southeastern  Nebraska,  and  in  1874  in  Boulder  County,  Colo. 
A  very  definite  record,  which  undoubtedly  pertains  to  this  brood  was 
obtained  in  1885,  reporting  its  occurrence  in  Franklin  County,  Ark. 
There  is  a  doubtful  record  also  referring"  perhaps  to  this  brood  as 
occurring  in  Lee  County,  Iowa,  in  1874. 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  43 


The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Arkansas. — Franklin. 
Colorado. — Boulder. 
Iowa. — Lee  (  ?). 
Xebraska. — Richardson. 

Brood  II.— Tredecim— 1908.    (Fig.  13.) 

This  is  a  small  brood,  founded  on  records  given  by  Dr.  Smith.  Some 
of  the  localities  cited  were  confirmed  and  others  negatived  on  the  recur- 
rence of  the  brood  in  1869,  as  reported  by  Professor  Riley  in  Bulletin 
No.  8  of  this  Division.  Since  that  date  two  doubtful  localities  have 
been  added,  one  in  Virginia  and  the  other  in  North  Carolina,  possibly 
based  on  17-year  broods  which  appeared  in  conjunction  with  this 
brood. 


Fig.  14.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  IV,  1909. 


The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Georgia. — Greene,  Jasper,  Muscogee,  Walker,  Washington. 
Xo r t h  Ca ro Una.  — W i Ikes  (  ? ) . 
Virginia. — Wise  (J). 

Brood  IV.— Tredecim— 1909.    (Fig.  14.) 

This  is  one  of  the  broods  representing  the  extreme  southern  range  of 
the  Cicada,  and  was  recorded  by  Dr.  Smith  in  Florida  as  occurring  in 
1814  and  1857.  Its  existence  was  confirmed  in  1870,  when  records  were 
obtained  indicating  its  extension  also  into  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and 
Tennessee. 

It  is  a  brood  which,  according  to  report,  does  not  seem  to  occur  in 


44 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


dense  swarms,  but  scatteringly,  at  least  in  its  more  northern  range.  No 
records  of  its  appearance  which  have  come  to  our  notice  were  made  in 
1883  nor  in  181)0. 
The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

.  I  labama. — Lauderdale,  Mobile. 
Florida. — Gadsden,  Jackson,  Washington. 
M  isswsippi. — Jackson,  Tishomingo. 
Ten  nessee—  Savannah. 

Brood  XI.—  Septendecim— 1910.    (Fig.  15.) 

This  is  a  well  authenticated  brood,  representing  widely  separated 
localities,  and  was  established  originally  on  data  given  by  Dr.  Smith. 


Fig.  15.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Broods  VI  and  XT,  1910. 


The  following  summary  of  its  distribution  is  substantially  as  given  by 
Professor  Riley  in  the  Report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
1893,  pp.  204-U05,  and  includes  the  old  records,  together  with  the 
confirmations  and  additions  coming  from  the  careful  investigation  made 
by  Professor  Riley  in  1893,  the  year  of  its  last  appearance 

The  doubtful  records  prior  to  1893  were  those  relating  to  the  occur- 
rence of  this  brood  in  Kansas  and  Colorado.  The  localities  in  Kansas 
received  doubtful  confirmation  in  1893,  and  the  Colorado  localities 
remained  unverified,  although  the  district  mentioned  was  visited  and 
special  search  was  made  for  evidences  of  the  insect. 


RANGE  OP  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  45 


The  localities  in  Pennsylvania  dated  from  181)3,  and  additions  were 
also  obtained  for  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina.1 
The  distribution,  by  States  and  comities,  is  as  follows: 

Colorado. — Cheyenne  Canyon  (?). 

District  of  Columbia. — North  of  Washington. 

Illinois. — Madison  (?). 

Indiana. — Knox,  Posey,  Sullivan. 

Kansas. — Dickinson,  Leavenworth. 

Ken  f  ucliij .  — Tr  i  m  bl  e . 

Maryland. — Prince  George,  south  half  of  St.  Mary. 

North  Carolina. — From  Raleigh,  Wake  County,  to  northern  line  of  State;  Davie, 
Cabarrus,  Iredell,  Rowan,  Surry. 
Pennsylvania. — Adams,  Cumberland,  Franklin. 

Virginia. — From  Petersburg,  Dinwiddie  County,  to  southern  line  of  State;  Bed- 
ford, Rockbridge;  valley  from  Potomac  to  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  boundary. 

Bkood  VI.— Tredecim— 1910.    (Fig.  15.) 

This  13-year  brood,  which  appeared  last  in  1897,  is  of  small  extent, 
but  well  established  by  many  reliable  records,  the  oldest  of  which 
dates  back  to  1806.    It  is  Brood  IV  of  Walsh-liiley. 

A  summary  of  the  distribution  of  this  brood  was  given  by  Mr. 
Schwarz  in  Circular  No.  22  of  this  Division,  issued  in  May,  1807.  This 
inquiry  resulted  in  the  report  of  but  one  additional  locality.  The  dis- 
tribution and  relationship  of  this  brood  is  given  by  Mr.  Schwarz  in  the 
circular  referred  to,  as  follows : 

It  is  confined  to  parts  of  southern  Mississippi  and  adjacent  parts  of  Louisiana 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  the  particular  localities  being  given  further  on.  Dr.  D.  L. 
Phares,  of  Woodville,  Miss.,  has  taken  particular  pains  to  ascertain  the  extent  of 
this  brood,  and  his  lucid  and  concise  account,  already  published  in  1885,  in  Bulletin 
8  (first  series)  of  this  Division,  is  herewith  reproduced: 

"Their  western  limit  is  the  Mississippi  River,  the  southern  about  8  miles  north 
of  Baton  Rouge,  the  eastern  about  4  miles  west  of  Greensburg,  the  county  seat  of 
Helena,  and  4  miles  west  also  of  Liberty,  in  Amite  County,  Miss.,  thus  extending 
from  15  to  50  miles  from  the  Mississippi  River,  and  from  the  vicinity  of  Baton  Rouge, 
108  miles  to  the  northern  limit  of  Claiborne  County,  Miss.,  perhaps  even  farther. 
They  therefore  occupy  East  and  West  Feliciana,  the  northern  part  of  East  Baton 
Rouge,  the  northwest  corner  of  Livingston  and  the  western  part  of  St.  Helena  par- 
ishes, La.,  and  Wilkinson,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Claiborne,  and  parts  of  Amite,  Frank- 
lin, and  possibly  parts  of  one  or  more  counties  in  Mississippi. 

''The  reports  receivedsince  1885  are  mostly  confirmatory  of  Dr.  Phares's  statement, 
but  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Anderson,  of  St.  Helena,  La.,  writes  us  that  the  parishes,  or  at 
least  parts  of  the  parishes,  of  Tangipahoa,  Washington,  and  St.  Tammany  had  to 
be  added  to  the  range  of  this  brood.  His  statement  is  quite  definite;  still  a  confir- 
mation of  these  new  localities  is  desirable. 

"  Brood  VI  is  evidently  a  forerunner  of  the  very  large  13-year  Brood  VII,  which 
will  appear  in  1898  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  geographical  range  of  Brood  VII 
was  mapped  out  in  the  Annual  Report  of  this  Department  for  1885,  and  it  Avill  be 

1  A  correspondent  (Mr.  H.  J.  Giddings,  of  Iowa),  writing  under  date  October  6, 1892, 
reports  that  during  June  of  that  year  he  found  the  periodical  Cicada  to  be  quite 
common.  In  his  reply  Professor  Riley  was  inclined  to  consider  these  specimens  as 
precursors  of  Brood  XI,  but  if  so  they  established  a  new  locality  for  the  brood  (see 
Insect  Life,  Vol.  V,  p.  200). 


46* 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


seen  from  this  map  that  the  southern  limits  of  Brood  VII  almost  precisely  coincide 
with  the  northern  limits  of  our  Brood  VI. 

"Th<>  following  is  an  enumeration  of  the  States  and  counties  from  which  Brood 
V  I  lias  been  recorded  : 

" Mississippi. — Counties  of  Adams,  Amite,  Claiborne,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  and 
Wilkinson. 

"Louisiana. — Parishes  of  East  Baton  Rouge,  East  Feliciana,  Livingston,  St.  Helena, 
St.  Tammany (f),  Tangipahoa  (  ?),  Washington  (?),  and  West  Feliciana." 

Brood  XII.— Septendecim— 1911.    (Fig.  16.) 

This  is  one  of  the  best  recorded  of  the  broods,  since  its  almost  exclu- 
sively eastern  range  brings  it  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  large 
towns  and  more  densely  populated  districts  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 


Fig.  16.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XH,  1911. 


Fitch  described  its  limits  as  his  Brood  No.  1  and  Walsh-Riley  as  Brood 
VIII.  It  has  been  reported  in  Connecticut  regularly  every  seventeen 
years  since  1724,  and  iu  New  Jersey  since  1775,  if  not  earlier,  and 
almost  equally  long  records  of  it  in  other  States  have  been  made. 

On  the  occasion  of  its  last  appearance,  in  1894,  its  distribution  in  New 
Jersey  was  very  carefully  studied  by  Prof.  J.  B.  Smith,  confirming  its 
occurrence  in  every  county  in  that  State,  and  in  New  York  similar 
studies  were  made  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Lintner.  The  Division  also  received  a 
vast  number  of  reports  from  these  and  other  States  in  answer  to  a  cir- 
cular prepared  by  Professor  Riley  and  mailed  in  May,  1S94.  Some  of 
the  Southern  records  obtained  in  1894  are  doubtful,  and  this  applies 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  47 


especially  to  the  localities  in  North  Carolina,  because  of  the  occurrence 
that  year  also  of  Brood  XVIII  of  the  13-year  race. 

The  distribution  as  listed  below  is  based  on  the  old  records  given  in 
the  circular  cited,  with  such  additions  and  corrections  as  the  reports  of 
appearance  in  1894  made  necessary. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Connecticut. — Fairfield,  Hartford,  Litchfield,  Middlesex,  New  Haven. 
District  of  Columbia. — Throughout. 
Indiana. — Dearborn,  Posey  (?). 

Maryland. — Anne  Arundel,  Calvert,  Charles,  Prince  George,  St.  Mary. 
Mich  igan. — Kalamazoo. 
New  Jersey. — Entire  State. 

New  York. — Albany,  Columbia,  Dutchess,  Greene,  Long  Island,  Orange,  Putnam, 
Rensselaer,  Rockland,  Saratoga,  Staten  Island,  Ulster,  Washington,  Westchester. 

North  Carolina.  —Bertie  ( ?),  Davie  (  ?),  Forsyth  (  ?),  Guilford,  Rockingham,  Rowan, 
Stokes,  Surry,  Wake  (?),  Warren  (?),  Yadkin  (?). 

Pennsylvania. — Berks,  Bucks,  Chester,  Dauphin,  Delaware,  Lancaster,  Lebanon, 
Lehigh,  Montgomery,  Northampton,  Philadelphia,  Pike,  Potter,  Schuylkill,  Wyoming. 

Virginia. — Albemarle,  Alexandria,  Amherst,  Appomattox,  Bedford,  Buckingham, 
Campbell,  Culpeper,  Fairfax,  Fauquier,  Fluvanna,  Goochland,  Hanover,  Henrico, 
James  City,  Loudoun,  Louisa,  Madison,  Powhatan,  Prince  Edward,  Rappahannock, 
Spottsylvania,  Stafford. 

Brood  XIII.—  Septendecim— 1912.    (Fig.  17.) 


Fig.  17.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XIII,  1912. 


This  brood,  deseribed  by  Walsh-Biley  as  Brood  IX,  is  one  of  the 
more  important  of  the  Western  17-year  broods,  its  most  compact  body 
20110— No-  14  4 


48 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


lying  in  the  States  of  Iowa  and  Missouri.  Records  are  given  by  Dr. 
Smith  in  both  Iowa  and  Illinois  in  1844,  and  it  has  been  regularly 
recorded  since  over  a  portion  at  least  of  its  range.  The  Iowa  distri- 
bution of  the  brood  was  carefully  studied  by  Professor  Bessey  in  1878. 

The  range  of  the  brood  as  given  below  is  based  on  the  published 
records,  together  with  a  number  of  additional  localities  collected  from 
the  correspondence  of  the  Division  by  Mr.  Schwarz. 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  is  as  follows: 

Illinois. — Champaign,  Fulton,  Hancock,  McDonough,  Mason,  Warren. 

Iowa. — Adair,  Adams,  Audubon,  Boone,  (  ass,  Dallas,  Davis,  Decatur,  Des  Moiues, 
(ireene,  Hamilton,  Henry,  Iowa,  Jefferson,  Jasper,  Johnson,  Keokuk,  Louisa, 
Madison,  Mahaska,  Marion,  Marshall,  Monroe,  Muscatine,  Polk,  Poweshiek,  Ring- 
gold, Story,  Taylor,  Union,  Van  Buren,  Wapello,  Warren,  Wayne,  Webster. 


Fig.  18.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XIV,  1913. 

Missouri. — Bates,  Buchanan,  Clark  (?),  Grundy,  Henry,  Johnson,  Knox  (?), 
Lewis  (?),  Macon  ( ?),  Marion  (?),  Monroe  (?),  Putnam,  Ralls  (?),  Randolph  ( ?), 
Schuyler  (?),  Scotland  (I),  Shelby. 

Nebraska. — Johnson. 

Ohio. — Champaign. 

BROOD  XIV.—  Septendecim—\$\Z.    (Fig.  18.) 

This  brood,  described  by  Walsh-Riley  as  Brood  X,  succeeds  Brood 
XIII  by  one  year,  and  in  the  main  appears  to  be  a  western  extension 
of  the  latter,  covering  a  portion  of  southwestern  Iowa,  eastern  Kansas, 
and  Indian  Territory,  with  detached  localities  in  Missouri  and  other 


RANGE  OF  BROODS  IN  ORDER  OF  FUTURE  APPEARANCES.  49 


States.  Its  original  connection  with  Brood  XIII  is  apparently  well 
shown  by  the  adjoining  or  overlapping  territory  occupied  by  the  two 
broods,  together  with  tbe  fact  of  their  separation  by  a  single  year. 

This  brood  was  well  recorded  in  1879,  the  data  being  published  by  Pro- 
fessor Riley  in  Bulletin  8  of  this  Division.  A  number  of  additional 
records  were  obtained  at  its  last  appearance  in  1896. 

The  distribution  of  the  brood  as  now  determined  is  as  follows: 

Arkansas. — Hempstead  (  ?). 

Indian  Territory. — Muscogee.  Tulsa. 

Iowa. — Adams,  Cass,  Dallas,  Fremont,  Mills,  Montgomery,  Page,  Pottawattamie, 
Taylor. 

Kansas. — Allen,  Bourbon,  Chase.  Coffey,  Douglas,  Greenwood,  Jackson.  Johnson, 
Labette,  Lyon,  Marion,  Morris,  Osage,  Pottawatomie.  Wabaunsee.  Wilson,  Woodson, 
Wyandotte. 

Alissoiiri. — Barton,  Buchanan,  Caldwell,  Grundy,  Holt,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Saline, 
Vernon. 

Xebraska. — Otoe. 

Texas. — Cooke,  Denton,  Fannin.  Kaufman,  Wise. 


Brood  XV. — SeptendeHm— 1914.    (Fig.  19. ) 


Fig.  19.— Map  showing  distribution  of  Brood  XY,  1914. 


Brood  XV  covers  in  tbe  main  a  rather  compact  territory  and  was 
reported  from  Ohio  as  early  as  1795.  Fitch  described  it  as  Brood  V 
and  Walsh-Riley  as  Brood  XI. 

The  limits  of  this  brood  as  known  prior  to  1897,  the  date  of  its  last 
appearance,  were  given  by  Mr.  Schwarz  in  Circular  No.  22,  second 


50 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


series,  of  this  Division.  In  1897  its  distribution  in  Ohio  was  very  care- 
fully studied  and  mapped  by  Prof.  F.  M.  Webster,  and  in  West  Vir- 
ginia by  Prof.  A.  ]).  Hopkins.  The  distribution  as  listed  below  is 
based  on  Mr.  Schwarz's  circular,  with  the  additions  noted  by  Messrs. 
Webster  and  Hopkins,  together  with  such  other  localities  as  were 
reported  to  the  Division  by  correspondents. 

Speaking  of  its  relationships  with  other  broods,  Mr.  Schwarz  in  the 
circular  mentioned  writes  as  follows: 

Brood  XV  is  always  preceded  by  one  year  by  the  17  year  Brood  XIV,  but  this  is 
known  only  from  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  so  that  no  relationship  seems 
to  exist  between  these  two  broods.  Brood  XVI,  which  appears  always  one  year  later 
than  Brood  XV,  is  known  from  a  number  of  localities  both  east  and  west  of  the  ter- 
ritory occupied  by  Brood  XV,  but  these  localities  are  so  scattered  and  of  so  small 
extent  that  no  relationship  between  the  two  broods  can  be  poiuted  out.  Compari- 
sons with  other  17-year  broods  are  very  tempting,  but  are,  of  course,  mere  specula- 
tion in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge.  Still,  can  it  be  a  mere  coincidence  that 
the  territory  occupied  by  Brood  XX  (1883-1900)  is  evidently  a  northeastward  exten- 
sion of  that  occupied  by  Brood  XV,  or  are  geological  reasons  sufficient  to  explain 
the  fact  that  the  territory  occupied  by  Brood  XV  almost  exactly  fills  the  gap  between 
the  two  great  divisions  of  Brood  XXII  (j.885-1902)  ? 

The  distribution,  by  States  and  counties,  of  this  brood  as  now  known 
is  as  follows: 

Ohio. — Athens.  Ashland,  Belmont,  Carroll,  Columbiana,  Coshocton,  Crawford, 
Cuyahoga,  Erie,  Fairfield,  Franklin,  Gallia,  Geauga,  Guernsey,  Harrison,  Hocking, 
Holmes,  Huron,  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Knox,  Lake,  Licking,  Lorain,  Mahoning,  Medina, 
Meigs,  Morgan,  Monroe,  Muskingum,  Noble,  Perry,  Pickaway,  Pine,  Portage,  Rick- 
land,  Boss,  Scioto,  Stark,  Summit,  Tuscarawas,  Vinton,  Washington,  Wayne. 

Pennsyl ca  n  ia . — Fa yette,  W a shington . 

Virginia. — Highland  (?). 

West  Virginia, — Barbour,  Boone,  Brooke,  Braxton,  Calhoun,  Clay,  Doddridge, 
Fayette,  Gilmer,  Grant,  Greenbrier  ( Hancock,  Hardy,  Harrison,  Jackson,  Kana- 
wha, Lewis,  Marion,  Marshall,  Mason,  Mineral,  Monongalia,  Nicholas,  Ohio,  Pleas- 
ants, Pocahontas,  Preston,  Putnam,  Randolph,  Ritchie,  Roane,  Summers  (  I).  Taylor, 
Tucker,  Tyler,  Upshur,  Wayne,  Webster,  Wetzel,  Wirt,  Wood. 

SYSTEMATIC  POSITION  AND  STRUCTURAL  DETAILS. 

The  periodical  Cicada  belongs  to  the  Hoinoptera.  one  of  the  two 
divisions  of  the  Hemiptera,  or  great  order  of  sucking  insects,  familiar  to 
the  public  mind  under  the  name  of  "bugs,"  and  including,  in  addition 
to  the  graceful  and  attractive  species  like  the  Cicada,  such  foul-smelling 
species  as  the  plant  bugs,  squash  bugs,  and  certain  animal  parasites. 
The  members  of  the  suborder  Homoptera,  to  which  the  Cicada  ami  its 
allies  belong,  are,  however,  distinctly  removed  from  the  lower  suborder 
of  ubugs'' just  referred  to,  namely,  the  Heteroptera,  and  lack  the  dis- 
gusting odor  and  habits,  as  a  rule,  of  the  latter  and  less  esteemed  sub- 
order of  sucking  insects.  The  Homoptera  as  a  rule  comprise  clear- 
winged  insects,  which  subsist  on  the  juices  of  plants,  and  are  active 
usually  in  flight  and  often  beautiful  in  form  and  color.  The  Cicadas 
are  uot  ouly  the  largest  and  most  striking  insects  of  their  suborder, 


SYSTEMATIC  POSITION  AND  STRUCTURAL  DETAILS. 


51 


some  of  the  species  measuring  over  C  inches  in  expanse  of  wings,  but 
In  the  male  sex  are  endowed  with  the  power  of  song,  which  last  char- 
acteristic has  invested  them  with  great  popular  interest  in  all  ages;  and 
especially  in  the  poetry  of  nature  are  they  noteworthy,  from  the  time  of 
Homer  to  the  present. 

The  old  genus  Cicada  is  represented  by  species  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  over  500  distinct  forms  being  already  known,  and  they  are 
especially  abundant  in  North  America,  nearly  100  species  having  been 
described  from  the  continent  and  adjacent  islands.  The  more  familiar 
of  these  insects  to  the  popular  mind  are  the  common  Dog-day  Cicadas, 
or  Harvest  Flies,  represented  by  several  species,  the  most  abundant  of 
which  is  perhaps  Cicada  pruinosa  ( tibicen).  The  sleepy  droning  of  these 
annually  appearing  species  in  July  and  August  is  commonly  taken  as  a 
harbinger  of  greater 
heat,  and  is  a  most  fa- 
miliar characteristic  of 
midsummer. 

The  periodical  spe- 
cies is  much  more  slen- 
der and  graceful  than 
the  majority  of  the  an- 
nual visitors,  but  struc- 
turally is  not  very  dis- 
similar. It  is  medium 
sized,  for  the  most  part 
black  in  color,  with 
orange-red  eyes  and 
limbs,  and  with  the 
margin  of  principal 
veins  of  the  four  nearly 
transparent  wings  sim- 
ilarly colored. 

In  discussing  the 
structure  of  this  insect 
particular  attention 
will  be  given  only  to 
the  important  organs,  viz,  those  for  taking  food,  or  the  beak;  the 
instrument  for  piercing  plants  and  depositing  eggs,  or  the  ovipositor; 
and  the  organ  of  song  in  the  male  insect. 

A  cursory  examination  of  one  of  these  insects  from  above  reveals  its 
rather  robust  body,  covered  by  two  pairs  of  transparent  parchment- 
ike  elliptical  wings,  which  rest  roof-like  over  the  abdomen;  the  short 
transverse  head  with  great  oval  prominent  eyes  at  the  lateral  angles, 
the  three  minute  ocelli  arranged  in  a  triangle  on  top,  and  the  very 
short,  thread-like  antenna1  projecting  between  the  compound  eyes. 
Viewed  from  beneath,  the  triangular  prolongation  of  the  head  into  the 


Fig.  20.— Head  and  prothorax  of  Cicada,  lateral  view,  showing 
parts  in  normal  position— for  description,  see  tig.  22  (author  s 
illustration). 


52 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


three-jointed  beak  is  to  be  noted ;  the  legs  not  especially  large  or  strong 
except  for  the  anterior  femora,  which  are  much  thickened;  in  the 
female  the  complex  instrument  for  the  deposition  of  eggs  projecting 
from  a  fissure  or  slit  in  the  lower  surface  of  the  abdomen,  and  the 
blunter  abdomen  of  the  male  without  the  fissure  beneath,  but  with  two 
large  ventral  plates  at  the  base  of  the  abdomen  covering  the  sounding 
disks  <>f  the  vocal  apparatus.  The  latter  is  located  on  either  side  of 
the  base  of  the  abdomen  and  appears  as  two  inflated  ribbed  drums  of 
lighter  color  than  the  general  body  surface. 

The  structure  and  workings  of  the  more  important  organs,  namely, 
the  beak,  the  ovipositor,  and  the  vocal  apparatus,  follow  in  some  detail. 

THE  MOUTH  PARTS,  OR  BEAK. 

In  the  order  of  insects  to  which  the  periodical  Cicada  belongs,  though 
vastly  modified,  it  is  possible  to  trace  all  the  essential  parts  found  in 


Fig.  21.— Head  of  Cicada,  front  view,  showing  the  normal  position  of  mouthparts  on  the  left,  and 
with  the  mandihle  and  maxilla  drawn  out  on  the  right— lor  description,  see  tig.  22  (author's 
illustration). 

the  mouth  of  true  biting  insects,  namely,  the  upper  lip  (labrum),  the 
main  pair  of  jaws  (mandibles),  the  second  or  lower  pair  of  jaws  (max 
ilhe),  and.  beneath,  the  lower  lip  (labium).  Within  also  are  the  two 
tongues,  one  projecting  from  the  roof  of  the  mouth  (epi pharynx),  and 
the  other  (hypopharynx)  attaching  to  the  upper  base  of  the  lower  lip. 
These  tongues  are  short,  and  of  service  probably  in  facilitating  the 
suction  necessary  in  raising  the  fluids!  of  the  plant  to  the  mouth.  They 
do  not  extend  beyond  the  mouth  cavity  and  never  enter  the  plant  tissues. 


THE  MOUTH  PARTS,  OR  BEAK.  53 

The  upper  lip  is  comparatively  short,  and  serves  its  normal  purpose 
as  a  covering  for  the  adjacent  parts  of  the  mouth.  What  correspond 
to  the  short,  powerful  biting  jaws  of  gnawing  insects  are  in  the  Cicada 
greatly  elongated  and  thread-like,  and  brought  together  to  form  a  sort 
of  piercing  and  sucking  apparatus,  which  is  inclosed  in  the  greatly 
elongated  lower  lip.  The  latter  is  three-jointed  and  deeply  grooved 
above  so  as  to  be  almost  tubular,  and  acts  as  a  support  and  sheath  for 
the  piercing  seta-like  jaws,  and  also  assists  in  conveying  the  liquids 
from  the  point  of  contact  with  the  plant  to  the  mouth  cavity.  The  long- 
lower  lip  just  described  is  the  piercing  beak  in  popular  belief,  yet  in 


Fig.  22.— Head  and  protborax  of  Cicada,  lateral  view,  with  parts  separated  to  show  structure:  T,  a, 
clypeus,  b  aud  c,  Labrum,  d.  epipharynx;  P,  same  from  beneath;  II,  mandible,  a,  base,  b,  sheath  for 
seta,  c,  mandibular  seta,  c\  muscular  base  of  latter;  III,  maxilla  with  parts  similarly  lettered;  IV, 
labium,  with  three  joints  as  follows,  a,  submentum,  b,  mentum,  c,  ligula;  the  hypopharynx  is  shown 
at  d,  from  side,  ri',  from  above,  and  d",  from  beneath  ;  V,  protborax  (author's  illustration). 

point  of  fact  it  never  enters  the  tissues  of  the  plant,  the  puncture  being- 
made  solely  by  the  fine,  stiff,  needle-like  jaws  or  seta^.  which  can  be 
projected  at  will  by  the  insect  with  great  force  from  the  tip  of  the  beak. 
(See  figs.  20,  21,  and  22.) 

In  the  periodical  Cicada  no  food  is  taken  in  the  adult  winged  stage 
as  a  rule.  Some  observers  insist  that  the  females,  which  are  longer 
lived  than  the  males,  pierce  certain  plants  aud  sustain  themselves  on 
plant  juices,  but  this  is  certainly  in  very  small  amount  and  is  not  con 
firmed  by  the  majority  of  observers.  (See  p.  72.)  Tue  male  is  very  short 
lived  aud  certainly  never  feeds,  and  taken  altogether,  therefore,  the 
feeding  by  the  emerged  insect  is  insignificant  in  amount  and  not  of 
practical  importance.  Throughout  the  long  adolescent  period,  how- 
ever, comprising  the  larval  and  pupal  existence  of  the  insect  under 


54 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


the  soil,  the  taking  of  food  is  a  constant  feature.    The  structure  of  the 
mouth  parts  in  these  preliminary  stages  is  identical  in  essentials  with 
that  of  the  adult,  and  the  characteristic  features  are  illustrated  in  the 
foregoing  figures  with  subjoined  explanations. 

In  the  taking  of  food  by  the  larvae  and  pupae,  as  they 
rest  on  the  rootlets  in  their  earthen  cells,  the  tip  of  the 
beak,  namely,  the  lower  lip,  is  brought  to  bear  on  the 
root,  and  by  alternating  longitudinal  thrusts  of  the  seta', 
especially  the  upper  pair,  which  are  the  stronger  and 
which  represent  the  great  jaws  or  mandibles  of  biting 
insects,  the  soft,  succulent  layers  of  the  cambium  beneath 
the  bark  are  reached,  the  slender  setaj  being  supported, 
strengthened,  and  directed  by  the  stronger  and  encir- 
cling sheath-like  lower  lip.  The  irritation  caused  by  this 
puncture  induces  a  flow  of  sap,  which  passes  up  between 
the  seta1  to  the  lower  lip  and  within  this  along  the  basal 
portion  of  the  seta*  into  the  mouth  or  throat  by  suction,  as 
in  higher  animals. 


Fig.  23.— The  peri- 
odical Cicada,  side 
view  of  female  to 
show  beak,  a,  and 
ovipositor,  b 
(after  Riley). 


THE  OVIPOSITOR. 


Fig.  24. — Abdomen  of  female  showing  ovipositor 
and  attachments:  a,  ventral,  b,  lateral,  and  c, 
dorsal  view  (original). 


The  ovipositor,  or  twig-pierc- 
ing and  egg-laying  organ,  of  the 
female  Cicada  is  also  a  very  com- 
plex instru- 


ment. It  is- 
|,y  |j  I  sues  from  a 
groove,  or 
fissure,  on 
the  under- 
side of  the  abdomen,  and  at  rest  is  nearly  concealed 
except  at  the  tip  by  the  broad  overlapping  sides 
of  the  eighth  dorsal  segment.  The  ovipositor 
proper  is  protected  and  covered  when  at  rest  by 
two  valves,  which  form  a  sort  of  sheath,  or  scab- 
bard. The  inclosed  ovipositor  is  a  very  tough, 
horny  instrument,  spear-shaped,  and  seriated 
at  the  extremity,  and  consists  of  three  pieces, 
namely,  a  back  portion  (probably  two  pieces 
grown  together),  which  acts  as  a  supporting  or 
connecting  piece  for  the  two  lateral  blades.  These 
lateral  pieces,  or  blades,  slide  up  and  down  in 
alternation  on  tongues  projecting  from  the  central 
or  supporting  piece,  have  serrated  cutting  edges, 
and  are  the  chief  agents  in  piercing  twigs  prepar 
atory  to  the  deposition  of  eggs  (fig.  25).  The  relative  position  of  the 
three  parts  of  the  ovipositor  and  the  nature  of  the  locking  tongues, 


Fig.  25.— Tip  of  ovipositor, 
much  enlarged:  a,  from 
above,  6,  from  beneath, 
with  dotted  portion  to 
show  the  alternating  mo- 
tion of  the  side  pieces 
(original). 


THE  MUSICAL  APPARATUS. 


55 


grooves,  and  clasps,  which  make  one  tube  of  the  whole,  are  illustrated 
in  the  accompanying  cross  sections  (fig.  26). 

The  different  pieces  of  the  ovipositor  attach  to  flat  plates  partly 
concealed  within  and  attaching  to  the  wall  of  the  abdomen,  and  are 
operated  by  powerful  muscles  both  in  making  incisions  in  the  twigs 
and  passing  the  eggs  from  the  oviduct  (which 
opens  at  the  base  of  the  ovipositor)  through 
the  tube  formed  by  the  three  parts  of  the 
instrument,  until  they  reach  their  final  lodg- 
ment in  the  twig.    The  act  of  oviposition 
will  be  described  in  another  place. 

THE  MUSICAL  APPARATUS. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature  of 
the  anatomy  of  the  Cicada  to  the  popular 
mind  is  the  musical  apparatus,  by  means  of 
which  it  makes  its  peculiar  note,  or  song. 
This  apparatus  and  the  sounds  produced  by 
its  possessor  have  been  studied  and  de- 
scribed by  many  naturalists,  beginning  with 
the  very  earliest,  and,  in  fact,  the  fullest  and 
most  accurate  description  of  the  method  of 
producing  sounds  and  the  anatomical  struc- 
ture of  the  vocal  organ  in  these  insects  is  the 
one  given,  early  in  the  last  century,  by  that 
famous  French  pioneer  in  the  study  of  the 
biology  and  anatomy  of  insects,  Reaumur.1 

The  work  of  Reaumur  was  confirmed  and  added  to  a  hundred  years 
later  by  a  most  painstaking  study  of  living  specimens  by  another 
French  student,  Solier,2and  for  a  minute  technical  description  of  the 
anatomy  and  workings  of  the  sound  apparatus  the  reader  is  referred 
to  these  authors. 

The  special  modification  and  structure  of  these  parts  in  our  periodi- 
cal species  have  been  studied  by  the  more  important  older  writers, 
as  Potter  and  Smith,  and  more  recently  by  W.  J.  Burnett1  and 
E.  G.  Love.4 

As  already  noted,  the  gift  of  song  is  found  in  the  male  insect  only  and 
the  true  sound  apparatus  consists  of  two  small  ear-like  or  shell-like 
inflated  drums  situated  on  the  sides  of  the  basal  segment  of  the  abdo 
men.  These  drums  are  caused  to  vibrate  by  the  action  of  powerful 
muscles,  and  the  sound  is  variously  modified  by  adjacent  smaller  disks — 
the  so-called  u  mirrors"  or  sounding  boards — and  issues  as  the  peculiar 

'Histoire  des  Insectes,  Vol.  V  (1740),  pp.  158-170,  pi.  17. 
-Ann.  Soc.  Ent.  France,  1837,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  199-217. 
3Proc.  Host.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  1851,  Vol.  IV,  p.  72. 
*Jotirn.  N.  Y.  Micros.  Soc,  1895,  XI,  pp.  39-42. 


Fig.  26.— Cross  section  of  oviposi- 
tor: «,  with  part  attached  in  nat- 
ural position,  b,  separated  to  show 
interlocking  tongues  and  grooves 
(original). 


56 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


note  of  the  species,  which  once  heard  is  never  likely  to  be  forgotten, 
or,  if  heard  again,  mistaken  for  that  of  some  other  insect.  The  true 
sound  organs  are  entirely  exposed  in  the  seventeen-year  Cicada  except 
for  the  covering  afforded  by  the  closed  wings  of  the  resting  insect. 
In  other  Cicadas  these  drums  are  visually  protected  by  overlapping 
valves  or  expansion  of  the  body  wall. 

The  sounding  drum,  or  "tinibal,"  as  Reaumur  termed  it,  of  the  peri- 
odical Cicada  is  a  tense,  dry,  crisp  membrane  numerously  ribbed  or 
plated  with  the  convex  surface  turned  outward.  The  ribs  are  chitinons 
thickenings  or  folds  in  the  surface  of  the  parchment -like  drum,  and 
strengthen  the  drum  while  perhaps  rendering  it  at  the  same  time  more 
elastic.    The  sound  is  produced  by  the  rapid  vibration,  or  undulation, 

caused  by  the  spring 
ing  or  snapping  in  and 
out  of  these  corrugated 
drums.  Two  powerful 
muscles  of  very  pecu- 
liar structure  situated 
within  the  base  of  the 
abdomen  set  these 
drums  in  motion,  pro- 
ducing the  rattling  so- 
called  song  of  the  Ci- 
cada, very  much,  as 
has  been  suggested,  as 
sound  is  produced  by 
pressing  up  and  down 
the  bottom  of  a  tin  pan 
which  is  somewhat 
bulged. 

Beneath  each  "tim- 
bal"  in  the  base  of  the 
abdomen  of  the  insect 
is  a  large  sound  or  air 

chamber,  and  a  third  occurs  in  the  thorax  joining  the  first  two.  These 
are  closed  by  the  body  walls  and  membranes,  and  the  two  abdominal 
ones  beneath  by  the  very  peculiar  "  mirrors,"  or  "  spectacles7' — the 
tense,  mica-like  membranes  situated  at  the  base  of  the  abdomen  and 
protected  and  covered  by  the  semicircular  rigid  disks  projecting  from 
the  thorax.  These  transparent  membranes  are  often  mistaken  for  the 
true  sound  organs,  but  they  are  rather  sounding-  boards,  or  drums,  to 
increase  and  transmit  the  sound  vibrations  induced  by  the  play  of  the 
timbals.  That  they  are  not  essential  to  the  production  of  sound  can  be 
shown  by  slitting  them  or  removing  them  altogether  without  there  being 
any  cessation  of  the  note.  Much  more  important  modifiers  of  sound  are 
the  semicircular  disks  projecting  from  the  thorax  over  the  " mirrors," 


Fia.  27. — The  musical  apparatus  of  the  periodical  Cicada:  a,  view 
from  beneath,  showing  the  plates  (light  colored)  covering  the 
sounding  disks;  b,  dorsal  view,  the  timbals  showing  as  light- 
colored  areas;  c,  section  at  base  of  abdomen,  showing  attach- 
ment of  large  muscles  to  timbals;  d,  timbal  greatly  enlarged,  in 
normal  position;  e,  same  drawn  forcibly  in  by  the  action  of  one 
of  the  muscles,  as  in  singing  (original). 


THE  SONG  NOTES. 


57 


which,  if  closed  artificially  or  by  the  insect,  deaden  the  sound  very 
much,  or  if  opened  or  cut  off,  allow  it  to  escape  in  greater  volume.  In 
singing,  also,  the  insect  modifies  the  song  notes  and  their  volume  by 
raising  and  lowering  the  abdomen,  thus  opening  and  closing  these  disks, 
and  the  act  of  singing  is  also  accompanied  by  a  sort  of  trembling  of 
the  thorax.  The  position  assumed  by  the  male  when  singing  is  always 
with  the  head  upward.  The  abdomen  is  then  elevated  and  apparently 
inflated,  and  with  the  beginning  of  the  sound  is  slowly  brought  down 
against  the  limb,  when  the  note  ceases.  After  a  rest  of  a  few  seconds  this 
operation  is  repeated.  These  abdominal  movements  vary  in  different 
species  of  Cicada  and  determine  in  a  measure  the  peculiar  notes  of  each. 

THE  SONG  NOTES  OF  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

The  song  of  the  different  sx>ecies  of  Cicadas  is  very  distinctive,  and 
one  familiar  with  the  music  of  these  insects  can  as  readily  recognize 
the  particular  species  by  its  peculiar  notes  as  one  knows  the  different 
birds  or  mammals  by  theirs.  The  general  character  of  the  notes  of  the 
periodical  species  has  been  thus  described  by  Dr.  Smith:1 

The  music  or  song  produced  by  the  myriads  of  these  insects  in  a  warm  day  from 
about  the  25th  of  May  to  the  middle  of  June  is  wonderful.  It  is  not  deafening,  as 
many  describe  it;  even  at  its  height  it  does  not  interrupt  ordinary  conversation.  It 
seems  like  an  atmosphere  of  wild,  monotonous  sound,  in  which  all  other  sounds  float 
with  perfect  distinctness.  After  a  day  or  two  this  music  becomes  tiresome  and  dole- 
ful, and  to  many  very  disagreeable.  To  me  it  was  otherwise,  and  when  I  heard  the 
last  note  on  the  25th  of  June  the  melancholy  reflection  occurred — shall  I  live  to  hear 
it  again? 

As  one  approaches  a  colony  of  these  insects  a  peculiar  roar,  not  unlike 
the  noise  of  a  factory  or  a  distant  reaper,  falls  on  the  ears,  and  this 
becomes  louder  and  more  intense  as  one  draws  nearer,  having  at  times 
when  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  colony  a  peculiar  all-pervading  and 
penetrating  effect.  The  individual  notes  are  somewhat  obscured  under 
these  circumstances,  but  in  the  lulls  the  characteristic  sounds  strike 
the  ear  and  the  peculiarity  is  never  to  be  forgotten,  especially  the 
mournful  falling  note  at  the  conclusion  of  each  effort.  Nearly  all  the 
principal  writers  on  the  Cicada,  and  notably  Potter,  Smith,  and  Fitch, 
have  attempted  to  analyze  the  song  note  of  this  insect,  but  the  most 
careful  study  made  is  that  by  Professor  Eiley,2  who  distinguishes  three 
important  notes  as  characteristic  of  different  seasons  or  conditions  of 
the  aerial  life  of  the  male  insect. 

The  loudest  and  most  characteristic  note,  and  the  one  which  is  per- 
haps most  tamiliar  to  the  popular  mind,  is  the  note  described  by  Fitch  as 
''represented  by  the  letters  tsh-e-e-E-E-E-E-e-ou,  uttered  continuously 
and  prolonged  to  a  quarter  or  half  minute  in  length,  the  middle  note 
deafeningly  shrill,  loud,  and  piercing  to  the  ear,  and  its  termination 
gradually  lowered  until  the  sound  expires."    The  length  of  this  note 

'Scientific  American,  March  22,  1851. 
-Science,  September  25,  1895. 


58 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


given  by  Fitcli  is  probably  the  maximum  term  and  is  unusual.  Ordi- 
narily it  is  much  shorter,  ranging  from  two  or  three  to  five  or  ten  or 
even  twenty  seconds.  This  note  is  the  characteristic  one  of  the  height 
of  the  season,  when  great  numbers  of  males  are  singing  together,  and 
is  rarely  made  by  solitary  individuals  or  when  there  are  only  a  few 
together.  Some  instinet  also  seems  to  prompt  the  singing  in  unison, 
and  as  it  rises  at  such  moments  the  intensity  and  volume  of  sound  lias 
a  startling  and  weird  effect. 

The  second  important  note  is  what  is  ordinarily  known  as  the  u  Pha- 
r  r-r  aoh  "  note,  and  is  made  early  in  the  season,  or  when  the  males  are 
few  in  number  and  recently  emerged.  The  termination  of  this  note  is 
notable  even  more  than  the  last  for  its  peculiar  mournful  cadence  and 
lowering  of  pitch,  which  is  very  characteristic.  It  lasts  but  two  or 
three  seconds.  It  has  been  compared,  rather  fancifully,  I  think,  by 
Professor  Riley  to  the  whistling  of  a  train  passing  through  a  short  tun- 
nel, or,  when  made  by  several  individuals,  more  accurately  to  the  croak- 
ing of  certain  frogs. 

A  third,  but  less  important,  note  is  the  clicking  or  intermittent 
chirping,  consisting  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  short,  quick  sounds,  some- 
times double,  the  whole  lasting  about  five  seconds,  and  resembling  the 
sharp  clicking  of  the  chimney  swallow  or  some  of  the  field  crickets. 

When  disturbed  and  at  the  moment  of  taking  flight  the  insect  is  apt 
to  make  a  short  cry  or  sharp  chirp. 

All  of  these  notes  are  similar  in  the  small  cassini  form,  but  of  higher 
pitch  and  less  volume.  As  described  by  Dr.  A.  W.  Taylor,  it  is 
"  uttered  without  much  change  of  tone,  and,  individually,  is  quite  low 
as  compared  with  that  of  the  other  form,  but  collectively  the  noise, 
when  the  observer  is  near,  sounds  like  the  rushing  of  a  strong  wind 
through  trees  of  dense  foliage."  At  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
it  sounds  "  like  the  noise  made  by  a  swarm  of  bees  passing  through  the 
air  close  at  hand." 

The  strength  and  clearness  of  all  the  notes  vary  with  the  weather 
conditions,  and  are  loudest  when  the  air  is  dry  and  warm  and  clear,  or 
between  the  hours  of  11  and  3  o'clock.  On  wet  days,  or  when  the  air 
is  unusually  moist,  the  sound  is  much  diminished,  and  heavy  or  contin- 
ued rains  stop  it  for  the  time  altogether. 

While  it  is  almost  universally  true  that  the  song  of  the  Cicada  is 
never  heard  between  sunset  and  sunrise,  they  will,  on  very  rare  occa- 
sions, when  disturbed,  start  up  singing  in  concert  in  the  middle  of  the 
night.  Prof.  A.  D.  Hopkins  noted  an  instance  or  two  of  this  kind  in 
connection  with  the  brood  of  Cicadas  appearing  in  West  Virginia  in 
1897.    He  says: 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  Lear  the  starting  of  one  of  these  concerts  on  a  clear, 
moonlight  night  in  June.  One  male  in  an  apple  tree  near  the  house  suddenly  called 
out  as  if  disturbed  or  frightened.  His  neighbors  in  the  same  tree  were  thus  appar- 
ently awakened.  One  started  the  familiar  song  note,  which  was  at  once  taken  up 
by  numbers  of  other  males,  and,  like  the  waves  from  a  pebble  dropped  into  still 


THE  SO-CALLED  STING. 


59 


water,  the  music  rapidly  spread  until  it  reached  the  edge  of  the  thick  woods,  where 
it  was  taken  up  by  thousands  of  singers,  and  the  concert  was  in  as  full  blast  as  it 
had  been  the  previous  day.  This  continued  a  few  minutes,  until  all  had  apparently 
taken  part  and  the  song  had  reached  its  highest  pitch,  when  it  hegan  to  gradually 
subside,  and  in  a  short  time  silence  again  prevailed. 

THE  SO-CALLED  STING  OF  THE  CICADA. 

With  every  general  outbreak  of  this  insect  are  associated  many 
accounts  in  local  papers  of  its  stinging  human  beings,  the  sting  often 
resulting,  it  is  stated,  more  or  less  seriously  to  the  person  stung.  Such 
accounts  were  especially  abundant  in  the  great  Cicada  year  1868,  and 
in  every  important  Cicada  year  before  and  since  similar  reports  have 
been  made.  So  great  was  the  fear  in  1868,  as  noted  by  Professor  Kiley, 
that  in  some  cases  fruits  were  avoided  as  being  stung  and  poisoned, 
and  even  drinking  water  was  sometimes  under  suspicion. 

So  far  as  investigation  of  the  reports  has  been  possible  they  have 
proved  to  be  either  utterly  without  foundation  or  much  exaggerated. 
Referring  again  to  Dr.  Smith's  manuscript,  it  is  seen  that  he  spent 
much  labor  in  carefully  investigating  such  accounts,  and  found  in  every 
case  that  he  followed  up,  where  death  had  beeu  reported  as  caused  by 
the  "bite"  or  sting  of  the  "locusts,"  the  story  to  be  entirely  fabulous. 
In  the  cases  of  apparent  stinging  he  suggests  that  the  sufferer  had 
probably  been  stung  by  a  wasp,  as  will  be  later  explained,  and  soundly 
argues  on  the  susceptibility  of  some  people  to  whom  the  slightest  scratch 
becomes  a  source  of  danger. 

Professor  Potter,  referring  to  the  Cicada,  says  in  this  connection: 
"Itcau  not  defend  itself  against  an  ant  or  ally.  We  have  handled 
them,  male  and  female,  time  after  time.  We  have  mutilated  them,  but 
never  could  provoke  them  to  resentment." 

Professor  Riley  says  that  of  the  thousands  Avhich  he  has  handled,  and 
the  hundreds  of  other  persons,  including  children,  who  have  also 
handled  these  insects,  not  a  single  bona  fide  case  of  stinging  has,  to 
his  knowledge,  resulted. 

That  the  periodical  Cicada  can  pierce  the  flesh  with  its  sucking  beak, 
or,  more  properly,  the  fine  needle-like  filaments  contained  in  it,  or  per- 
haps extremely  rarely  with  the  ovipositor  in  the  case  of  the  female,  is 
quite  within  the  bounds  of  possibility,  and  some  apparently  well-authen- 
ticated cases  or  reports  by  reliable  observers  bear  out  this  view.  There 
is  not  a  particle  of  evidence,  however,  to  show  that  such  penetrating 
is  attended  with  the  injection  of  any  poisonous  fluid,  and  the  injurious 
consequences  which  follow  them  in  rare  cases  are  evidently  due  to 
unusual  sensitiveness  on  the  part  of  the  individual,  as  suggested  by 
Dr.  Smith,  or  a  bad  condition  of  the  blood,  which  would  cause  any 
wound  to  be  attended  with  serious  consequences.  In  this  connection 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that  there  are  well  authenticated  instances  of 
most  serious,  if  not  fatal,  results  following  the  bites  of  such  insects  as 
the  mosquito,  and  other  biting  flies,  the  result  of  the  bites  of  which  are 
very  trivial  in  common  experience. 


60 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


With  all  tbe  reports  of  stings  by  the  Cicada  which  have  been  made 
it  is  not  to  be  questioned  that  some  of  them  have  a  basis  in  fact.  As 
suggested  by  Dr.  Smith,  and  afterwards  fully  elaborated  by  Dr.  Walsh1, 
many  of  these  reports  are  undoubtedly  cases  of  wrong  determination, 
and  the  stinging  had  probably  no  direct  connection  with  the  Cicada. 
There  are,  for  example,  several  large  digger  wasps  which  provision 
their  larval  galleries  with  adult  Cicadas  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
young.  One  of  the  commonest  of  the  digger  wasps  is  the  species 
Megastizus  speciosus,  described  later  on  under  the  heading  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Cicada  (p.  99).  As  first  suggested  by  Dr.  Smith,  and 
af  terwards  more  fully  shown  by  Dr.  Walsh,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  this 
or  some  allied  wasp,  flying  with  its  rather  heavy  burden,  might  strike 
against  or  alight  on  some  human  being,  and  upon  being  brushed  off 
would  retaliate  by  stinging  the  offender  aud  then  flying  away,  leaving 
the  Cicada  behind.  In  the  absence  of  the  wasp  the  Cicada  would  very 
naturally  be  accused  of  the  offense.  The  usual  prey  of  this  wasp, 
which  appears  rather  too  late  in  the  season  to  account  for  all  the  cases 
of  stinging  reported,  is  the  later-appearing  annual  Cicadas. 

The  rare  cases  of  stinging  by  the  Cicada,  that  have  any  basis  in  fact, 
may  be  accounted  for,  as  already  suggested,  by  a  thrust  either  of  the 
ovipositor  or  the  sucking  beak. 

From  the  structure  of  the  ovipositor,  as  already  described,  it  will  at 
once  be  perceived  that  there  is  nothing  impossible  in  a  wound  being 
made  by  this  instrument.  The  objections  to  this  suggestion  are  that 
the  ovipositor  when  not  in  use  in  placing  eggs  in  twigs  is  concealed  in 
a  sheath  in  the  insect's  abdomen,  and  also  that  the  piercing  of  a  twig  or 
other  substance  by  the  ovipositor  is  a  slow  and  laborious  process,  and, 
therefore,  would  not  account  for  the  quick  sting  usually  described.  In 
no  case  has  an  egg  been  found  in  the  flesh,  and  in  fact  it  is  improbable 
that  an  insect  should  be  allowed  to  rest  long  enough  on  the  flesh  to 
accomplish  the  insertion  of  an  egg.  Furthermore,  tests  were  made  and 
reported  by  Dr.  Walsh2  and  later  by  Professor  Riley,  showing  the 
absurdity  of  the  theory  that  the  stinging  in  question  is  done  by  the  aid 
of  this  instrument,  the  female  not  being  able  to  puncture  the  soft,  yield- 
ing flesh  at  all.  In  one  test  reported  by  Professor  Riley,  Mr.  William 
Muir,  of  St.  Louis,  removed  a  female  from  a  tree  while  she  was  in  the 
act  of  ovipositing,  and  placed  her  on  his  finger.  Although  she  instinc- 
tively endeavored  to  continue  her  work,  she  was  not  able  to  make  the 
least  impression  on  the  soft,  yielding  flesh.  A  second  experiment  was 
made  by  Mr.  Peter  A.  Brown,  of  Philadelphia,  who  himself  made  sev- 
eral punctures  upon  his  hand  with  the  ovipositor  without  experiencing 
any  more  serious  results  than  would  have  followed  pricking  with  a  pin 
or  other  sharp  instrument.  In  a  third  experiment  Dr.  Hartman,  of 
Pennsylvania,  introduced  some  moisture  from  the  ovipositor  into  an 
open  wound  and  it  caused  no  inflammation  whatever. 

1  American  Entomologist,  I,  pp.  7,  8,  September,  1868. 

2  Loc.  cit. 


TRANSFORMATION  TO  THE  ADULT  STAGE. 


61 


The  ovipositor  having  been  removed  as  the  probable  source  of  sting- 
ing, the  beak  only  remains,  and  it  is  unquestionably  by  means  of  this 
instrument  that  practically  all  the  so-called  stings  of  the  Cicada  are 
made.  The  structure  of  the  beak  has  already  been  discussed,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable,  though  certainly  a  rare  occurrence,  that  the  Cica- 
da, when  held  or  caught,  may  thrust  out  the  slender  seta1  and  puncture 
the  skin.  Many  other  Hemipterons  insects  are  known  to  "sting7'  in 
this  way  and  to  cause  some  severe  momentary  pain.  The  sensitive- 
ness of  the  individual  is,  however,  in  the  case  of  the  Cicada,  the  sole 
criterion  of  injury.  The  authentic  reports  of  Cicada  stings  show  some 
variations  in  the  effects,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  result  is  much  less  serious 
than  the  sting  of  a  bee,  and  not  much  more  than  the  puncture  of  a 
needle,  the  wound  usually  healing  immediately. 

TRANSFORMATION  TO  THE  ADULT  STAGE. 

FERIOD  OF  EMERGENCE. 

The  date  of  the  issuing  of  the  Cicadas  from  the  ground  after  their 
long  concealment  varies  a  little  with  the  latitude,  being  later  in  the 
Korth  than  in  the  South.  In  the  accounts  of  this  insect  published  by 
Professor  Riley  and  most  other  writers  up  to  the  present  time  it  has 
been  stated  that  there  is  very  little  divergence  in  the  time  of  issuing 
between  the  northern  and  the  southern  broods,  the  latter  half,  or  more 
strictly  the  last  week,  of  May  being  the  normal  period  for  the  emergence 
of  the  insect  throughout  its  range.  That  there  may  be,  however,  a 
considerable  difference  in  time,  depending  on  elevation  and  temperature, 
in  a  given  district  and  in  the  northern  and  southern  parts  of  the 
country,  also  determined  undoubtedly  by  temperature,  has  been  fully 
established.  The  variation  in  the  dates  of  appearance  is  illustrated 
by  the  following  records. 

Dr.  Phares,  writing  of  the  occurrence  of  Brood  VI  in  1871,  states 
that  a  few  males  began  to  appear  about  the  20th  of  April,  but  that  the 
bulk  of  the  brood  did  not  emerge  until  the  7th  and  8th  of  May,  when 
they  came  forth  from  the  earth  in  vast  numbers,  continuing  to  emerge 
in  diminishing  numbers  until  the  18th  of  May.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  this  is  the  most  southern  of  all  the  broods — lying  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  Mississippi  and  the  adjoining  parts  of  Louisiana. 

Mr.  John  Bartram,  writing  of  the  brood  appearing  in  1719,  states 
that  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  an  abundance  of  these  insects 
which  had  just  escaped  from  their  skins  were  observed  on  the  morning 
of  May  10,  and  that  they  continued  to  issue  in  great  numbers  for  a 
week  or  more,  beginning  to  sing  on  the  13th  and  to  oviposit  on  the  16th, 
and  disappearing  altogether  by  the  8th  of  June. 

In  the  great  brood  year  of  1868  Professor  Riley  noted  that  in  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Louis  "they  commenced  to  issue  on  the  22d  of  May,  and 
by  the  25th  of  the  same  month  the  woods  resounded  with  the  rattling 
concourse  of  perfect  insects."    At  Washington,  J).  C,  in  the  Cicada 


62 


THK   PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


year  1885,  scattered  individuals  appeared  on  May  23,  and  they  issued, 
perhaps,  most  abundantly  on  the  night  of  the  27th.  Those  emerging 
within  the  city  were  somewhat  earlier  in  appearance  than  was  the  case 
in  the  neighboring  woods  across  the  Potomac  in  Virginia,  probably  for 
the  same  reason  that  the  trees  in  the  city  put  out  their  foliage  a  little 
earlier  than  in  the  near-by  woods. 

Mr.  Davis,  writing  of  Brood  XII  as  it  appeared  in  1894  on  Staten 
Island,  New  York,  says  that  as  early  as  May  10  many  Cicadas  had 
emerged,  the  tirst  individuals  of  the  swarm  being  uoted  six  or  seven 
days  earlier. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Butler,  writing  of  the  brood  appearing  in  1885  in  Frank- 
lin County,  Ind.,  says  that  while  in  a  few  localities  individuals  were 
seen  as  early  as  May  28,  in  other  places  not  distant  they  did  not 
emerge  until  June  4,  and  later. 

Mr.  Hopkins  made  a  careful  study  of  the  dates  of  emergence  in  West 
Virginia  in  1897  in  connection  with  Brood  XV,  and  found  very  consid- 
erable variation  in  time  of  appearance  both  between  the  northern  and 
southern  border  of  the  brood  and  between  the  lowest  and  highest  ele- 
vations within  the  area  covered  by  the  brood.  For  the  former  a  differ- 
ence of  nearly  two  weeks  was  indicated  by  the  records,  and  for  the 
latter  a  difference  of  nearly  four  weeks.  This  variation,  he  says, 
appears  to  be  due  to  the  difference  of  climate  between  the  northern 
and  southern  sections  and  between  low  and  high  elevations,  in  the 
former  case  amounting  to  3£  degrees,  and  in  the  latter  to  over  10  « 
degrees  in  average  summer  temperature.  He  deduces  from  his  obser- 
vations, as  a  general  rule,  that  there  is  about  three  and  one-half  days 
difference  in  the  time  of  the  first  general  appearance  of  the  Cicada  for 
each  degree  of  difference  in  the  average  summer  temperature,  whether 
it  be  due  to  latitude  or  elevation.1 

An  interesting  case  of  artificial  acceleration  in  the  appearance  of 
these  insects  is  recorded  by  Professor  Eiley  as  follows:  Dr.  E.  S.  Hull, 
of  Alton,  111.,  having  placed  some  underground  flues  for  forcing  vege- 
tables, the  unnatural  heat  caused  the  Cicadas  to  emerge  by  the  20th  of 
March  and  from  this  time  on  until  May.  Other  instances  of  accel- 
eration are  given  in  the  discussion  of  the  subject  of  retardation  or 
acceleration  in  times  of  appearance  as  a  possible  explanation  of  the 
formation  of  the  different  broods.    (See  p.  20.) 

Notwithstanding  the  difference  in  time  of  emergence  in  the  above 
citations,  the  fact  nevertheless  remains  true  of  the  great  uniformity 
evidenced  in  the  time  of  emergence,  namely,  the  last  week  in  May,  for 
the  great  bulk  of  the  territory  covered  by  the  different  broods  of  the 
Cicada,  and  this  fact  is  one  of  the  noteworthy  features  in  the  life  his- 
tory of  the  insect. 

The  males  precede  the  females  by  several  days  and  disappear  earlier 
in  the  summer,  both  by  reason  of  being  shorter  lived  and  also  on  account 


1  Bulletin  503  W.  Va.  Agric.  Exper.  Station,  p.  17. 


DURATION  OF  THE  ADULT  STAGE. 


63 


of  their  earlier  appearance,  so  that  it  often  happens  that  while  the 
woods  are  still  filled  with  females  actively  engaged  in  ovipositing,  the 
males  are  altogether  absent  and  their  songs  are  unheard. 

DURATION  OF  THE  ADULT  STAGE. 

Under  normal  conditions  the  Cicada  remains  in  evidence  in  the  woods 
five  or  six  weeks,  occasional  individuals  occurring  later,  but  as  a  rule 
their  disappearance  is  almost  as  sudden  as  their  appearance  and  is 
complete  in  the  first  weeks  in  July.  Mr.  Butler,  writing  of  the  1885 
brood  in  Indiana,  says  that  twenty-three  days  after  the  appearance  of 
the  Cicada  a  perceptible  decrease  in  numbers  was  observed,  chiefiy  from 
a  disappearance  of  the  males.  On  July  15,  nine  days  after  they  had 
disappeared  from  the  river  valley  districts,  they  were  still  abundant 
and  active  in  more  elevated  situations.  Mr.  Davis,  writing  of  the  brood 
of  1894  on  Staten  Island,  says  that  by  the  third  week  in  June  the  Cica- 
das commenced  to  die  of  old  age,  and  yet  the  males  were  still  singing 
and  the  females  were  abundant  in  certain  localities  as  late  as  the  8th  of 
July,  while  by  the  15th  of  the  same  month  all  had  disappeared. 

Mr.  Hopkins  found  on  the  hills  near  Morgantown,  W.  Va.,  that  the 
dates  of  the  Cicada  appearance  were  about  normal,  the  first  adults 
appearing  on  May  20,  the  first  general  appearance  not  coming,  however, 
until  the  21th.  Cold  weather  intervening,  there  was  a  subsidence  again 
until  the  30th,  when  they  emerged  again  in  enormous  numbers.  Ovi- 
position  began  on  the  13th  of  June,  and  by  the  17th  of  the  month  the 
leaves  on  the  wounded  twigs  commenced  to  wither.  All  had  disappeared 
by  the  4th  of  July. 

METHOD  OF  EMERGENCE. 

In  escaping  from  the  soil  the  pupa  burrows  directly  upward,  but  not 
always  in  a  straight  line,  and  under  normal  conditions  emerges  directly, 
leaving  a  small  round  hole  about  the  size  of  a  man's  little  finger.  While 
it  is  generally  true  that  they  do  not  pierce  the  surface  at  all  until  they 
are  ripe  for  transformation,  they  seem  to  have  a  frequent  habit  of  pene- 
trating nearly  to  the  top  of  the  ground  some  time  before  they  actually 
issue  and  remain  usually  within  their  burrows  or  sometimes  emerging, 
but  concealing  themselves  under  logs,  stones,  etc.,  awaiting  the  proper 
moment  to  come  forth.  Usually  throughout  the  month  of  April  they 
are  to  be  found  thus  near  the  surface,  as  has  been  recorded  by  many 
observers. 

On  the  authority  of  Professor  Potter  the  10th  of  April  is  usually  the 
date  for  their  appearance  near  the  top  of  the  ground.  Here  they  are 
often  discovered  by  hogs  and  eaten  with  avidity,  their  holes  coming 
within  a  quarter  of  an  inch  of  the  surface  and  penetrating  downwards 
from  6  to  12  inches. 


20110— No.  14  5 


04 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


CICADA  HUTS,  OR  CONES. 

Under  special  or  peculiar  circumstances,  not  always  easily  explain- 
able, the  Cicada  pupa'  construct  little  cones,  or  chimneys,  of  earth 
above  the  surface  of  the  soil,  continuing  and  capping  their  holes,  several 
weeks  before  the  time  of  issuing.  In  addition  to  the  names  Cicada 
"huts"  or  "  cones,'7  these  curious  structures  have  been  variously  termed 
"towers,"  "roofs,"  "chimneys,"  "turrets,'1  and  "adobe  dwellings." 

The  earliest  reference  to  them, 
if  the  writer  mistakes  not  the 
significance  of  the  language,  and 
one  which  has  hitherto  been  over- 
looked, is  by  Professor  Potter.1 
He  refers  to  the  "  roofs  of  their 
tenements"  as  being  "neatly 
arched  and  so  firmly  cemented 
that  water  is  never  found  in 
them,  although  all  of  the  sur- 
rounding grounds  are  overflowed 
and  perfectly  saturated,"  and, 
stating  that  "the  locust  is  not 
singular  in  this  provision,"  he  re- 
fers, in  the  same  connection,  to 
the  crayfish  and  other  shellfish 
and  some  insects  as  building 
houses  along  water  courses,  where  the  soil  is  wet,  resembling  "small 
chimneys,"  as  a  provision  against  "inundation  and  drowning." 

The  first  definite  account  of  the  Cicada  huts  we  owe  to  Mr.  S.  S. 
Eathvon,  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  who  described  them  as  occurring  iu 
localities  where  the  drainage  was  imperfect.    He  says: 

We  had  a  series  of  heavy  rains  here  about  the  time  of  their  first  appearance,  and 
in  such  places  and  under  such  circumstances  the  pupa1  would  continue  their  galleries 
from  4  to  6  inches  above  the  ground,  leaving  an  orifice  of  egress  even  with  the  sur- 
face. In  the  upper  end  of  these  chambers  the  pupre  would  be  found  waiting  their 
approaching  time  of  change.  They  would  then  back  down  below  the  level  of  the 
earth  (as  at  d,  iig.  28)  and,  issuing  forth  from  the  orifice,  would  attach  themselves  to 
the  first  object  at  hand  and  undergo  their  transformations  in  the  usual  manner. 

Professor  Riley  had  the  accompanying  figure  (fig.  28)  made  from  one 
of  the  chambers  furnished  by  Mr.  Rath  von.  This  chamber  measured 
about  4  inches  in  length,  with  a  diameter  on  the  inside  of  five-eighths 
inch  and  on  the  outside  of  1^  inches. 

As  will  be  later  noted,  the  exit  hole  at  the  base  of  the  turret  in  this 
instance  was  probably  abnormal,  the  insect  issuing,  as  shown  by  later 
observers,  almost  invariably  from  a  hole  clawed  through  the  summit 
of  the  cone. 

The  next  instance  of  the  occurrence  of  these  cones  of  which  we  have 


Fig.  28.— Pupal  galleries  of  the  Cicada :  a,  front  view ; 
c,  oritice;  b,  section;  c,  pupa  awaiting  time  of 
change;  d.  pupa  ready  to  transform  (after  Eiley). 


Notes  on  the  Locmta,  etc.,  pp.  17,  18. 


THE  HUTS,  OR  CONES. 


65 


a  record  is  a  rather  remarkable  one,  and  is  given  by  Prof.  J.  S.  New- 
berry.1 These  cones  appeared  in  May  and  June,  1877,  in  a  shallow 
cellar  of  a  house  which  had  been  erected  on  the  site  of  an  old  orchard 
at  K  ah  way,  N.  J.  The  cellar  had  beeu  dug  to  the  depth  of  about  a  foot, 
and  had  been  closed  until  about  the  time  of  the  emergence  of  the  Cica- 
das, when  it  was  opened  and  the  bottom  was  found  to  be  thickly  beset 
with  mud  cones  or  tubes  from  6  to  8  inches  high.  The  explanation  for 
these  curious  structures  suggested  by  Professor  Newberry  is  that  the 
Cicadas,  finding  a  dark  chamber,  were  apparently  attempting  to  work 
up  to  daylight.  What  is  probably  the  true  explanation  of  their  occur- 
rence will  be  given  later.  An  excellent  photograph  of  one  of  these 
structures,  which  considerably  exceeds  6  inches  in  length,  accompanies 
Professor  Newberry's  paper. 

The  references  cited  include  all  the  records  of  the  occurrence  of  these 
cones  up  to  1894.  In  that  year,  however,  these  structures  were  noticed 
in  many  localities  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  on  the  appearance  of 
Brood  XII,  and  excellent  opportunities  were  afforded  for  their  study, 
advantage  of  which  was  taken  by  several  competent  observers  who 
were  so  situated  that  careful  examinations  could  be  made.  The  results 
of  these  investigations  have  cleared  up  much  of  the  obscurity  which 
has  hitherto  surrounded  these  elevated  burrows. 

The  first  person  to  note  these  structures  in  1894  was  Mr.  William  T. 
Davis,  who  reported  their  occurrence  in  April  on  Staten  Island,  New 
York,  stating  that  the  pupae  had  been  found  on  the  8th  of  that  month 
under  boards  on  the  edge  of  a  meadow,  where  they  had  been  erecting 
cones  of  earth  above  the  damp  ground.    In  a  later  article  he  says: 

On  the  22d  of  April  many  pupre  were  found  in  the  woods  along  Willow  Brook 
under  stones,  logs,  and  the  chips  ahout  stumps  of  trees  cut  down  in  winter.  Many 
more  were  without  protection  of  this  kind,  and  their  preseuce  was  indicated  by  the 
small  irregular  cones  of  earth  among  the  dead  leaves.  A  heavy  footfall  near  the  cone 
was  sufficient  to  cause  the  insects  to  retreat,  but  if  they  were  approached  silently 
and  suddenly  knocked  over  their  constructors  would  be  found  within. 

Some  of  the  cones  were  3  inches  high,  but  they  did  not  average  more 
than  2  inches.  The  experience  of  Mr.  Davis  corroborates  the  theories 
of  Professor  Potter  and  Mr.  Rathvon  that  the  Cicada  cones,  occurring 
in  moist  situations,  are  designed  to  lift  the  insect  above  such  undesirable 
conditions. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1894  the  attention  of  Dr.  Lintner,  the  New 
York  State  entomologist,  was  called  to  the  occurrence  of  these  cones  by 
correspondents,  and  an  investigation  of  the  subject  was  undertaken. 
A  preliminary  report  was  published  in  1895, 2  but  his  final  report  was 
not  published  until  May  of  the  present  year.  '  In  describing  the  phe- 
nomenon in  his  Tenth  Report,  he  says  that  the  cones  frequently  occurred 

School  of  Mines  Quarterly,  vol.  7,  January,  1886,  2  pp. 
2 Tenth  Report,  Insects,  New  York,  pp.  120-123. 
-Twelfth  Report,  Insects,  New  York,  pp.  279-286. 


GG 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


iii  many  thousands  and  occasionally  hundreds  of  thousands  together, 
in  some  cases  being  intermingled  with  the  ordinary  opeu  burrows.  At 
New  Baltimore,  N.  Y.,  1G  miles  south  of  Albany,  as  early  as  the  last 
week  iu  April  the  pupa-  had  brought  up.  apparently  from  a  considerable 
depth,  masses  of  soft  clay-like  material  aud  molded  it  above  the  ground 
into  conical  and  cylindrical  structures  for  their  temporary  occupancy. 
In  places  the  ground  was  almost  covered  with  them,  as  many  as  twenty- 
five  being  counted  to  the  square  foot.  The  cones  inclined  at  a  consider- 
able angle  from  the  perpendicular 
and  measured  from  2  to  oh  inches 
in  height,  and  the  chamber  within 
was  uniform  in  diameter  with  the 
hole  in  the  ground.  In  emerging 
the  pupa  made  a  round  opening  iu 
the  upper  part  of  the  chamber  for 
its  escape.  The  accompanying  fig- 
ures (fig.  29),  published  by  Dr.  Lint- 
ner  in  the  report  cited,  represent  two 
of  the  chimneys  about  two  thirds  of 
their  natural  size. 

In  the  Twelfth  Report  cited  a  long 
list  of  localities  in  New  York  is  given 
where  they  were  found  in  1894,  to- 
gether with  notes  on  the  character 
of  the  chambers  and  accompanying 
conditions  of  the  soil,  and  also  on  the  method  of  their  construction. 
Two  of  the  plates  illustrating  this  report  are  reproduced  in  this  bulletin 
(see  Pis.  II  and  III).  They  are  reproductions  of  photographs  of  small 
areas  of  cone  covered  districts. 

Two  very  elaborate  accounts  of  these  structures,  by  Mr.  Beniamin 
Lander  and  Dr.  E.  G.  Love,  were  published  in  1894-95,  the  authors 
seeming  very  near  the  actual  truth  in  their  explanation  of  the  phe- 
nomenon. Mr.  Lander  describes  the  occurrence  of  the  cones  as  noted 
by  him  as  follows : 

On  the  4th  of  May.  1894.  while  in  the  woods  on  the  summit  of  South  Mountain,  at 
Nyack,  N.  V..  I  came  upon  a  spot  that  had  recently  been  burnt  over.  On  this  area  I 
observed  vast  quantities  of  the  Cicada  structures,  entirely  closed,  averaging  about 
2±  inches  in  height,  the  aggregation  ending  at  the  very  edge  of  the  burnt  section. 
.So  thickly  studded  was  the  ground  that  often  eight  or  ten  would  be  found  in  the 
space  of  a  square  foot  ;  in  one  case  I  counted  twenty-three  in  such  a  space.  Subse- 
quent explorations  showed  that  the  Cicada  city  extended  over  an  area  of  not  less 
than  60  acres.  Eight  large  aggregations  were  discovered  by  me  on  top  of  the  Xya<-k 
hills  and  the  Palisades,  covering  many  acres,  and  one  near  a  stone  quarry  at  a  lower 
elevation — none  of  them  in  a  place  subject  to  overflow.  Later,  when  only  the  ruins 
of  the  domes  remained,  I  visited  two  areas  where  large  numbers  had  been  found,  one 
in  ground  thinly  covering  massive  sandstone  and  another  hard  by  a  quarry,  where 
the  top  soil  was  thin. 

The  explanation  offered  by  Mr.  Lander  is  that  the  dome  builders, 


-Clay  bnilding*  of  the  periodical  Cicada 
.      (after  Lintner) 


Boil  No.  14,  New  Series,  Dnr  of  Entomology.  U.  S  Dept.  Agr 


THE  HUTS,  OR  CONES. 


67 


owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the  soil,  determined  either  by  the  nearness 
of  the  underlying-  rocks  or  of  a  subsoil  of  a  character  preventing  the 
insects  working  in  it  effectively,  had  responded  more  quickly  to  the  heat 
of  spring  and  early  summer,  aud  the  pupae  coming  prematurely  to  the 
surface  closed  and  extended  their  burrows  as  a  means  of  protection 
while  awaiting  maturity.  The  extension  of  the  gallery  above  the 
ground,  though  not  suggested  by  Mr.  Lander,  may  be  explained  by 
the  same  instinct  which  impels  the  insects  to  burrow  upward  from  its 
subterranean  cell. 

In  substantiation  of  his  theory,  Mr.  Lauder  calls  attention  to  the 
weather  records  for  March  and  April,  1S94,  which  iudicate  an  unusually 
high  temperature  throughout  the  region  of  the  domed  burrows,  causing 
wild  plants  to  bloom  a  month  before  their  ordinary  season.  The  occur- 
rence of  these  structures  over  burnt  areas,  which  would  be  acted  upon 
more  quickly  by  the  sun,  supports  his  belief.  Additional  support  of 
the  same  kind  is  an  instance  recorded  by  Prof.  J.  B.  Smith1  in  a  letter 
received  from  Mr.  J.  H.  Willets,  of  Port  Elizabeth,  N.  J.  The  latter 
states  that  "On  April  24  a  fire  from  the  South  Jersey  Railroad  burned 
over  several  hundred  acres  of  woodland,  leaving  the  earth  bare.  Six 
days  after  these  fresh  holes  and  raised  tubes  appeared,  and  yesterday 
the  whole  surface  was  literally  covered  with  them.'7  In  further  descrip- 
tion he  says: 

Imagine  yourself  standing  out  in  the  woods  in  south  Jersey  on  100  acres  of  recently 
burned  ground  with  millions  and  millious  of  raised  tubes  of  new  earth  (clay  ground) 
raised  above  the  surface  from  2  to  4  inches  and  from  1£  to  2  inches  in  diameter, 
sealed  at  the  top,  with  a  hole  inside  extending  down  in  the  earth  12  inches  at  least, 
*    *    and  you  will  see  mentally  what  I  saw  yesterday  physically. 

In  this  instance  also,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Lander,  the  turrets 
ended  abruptly  at  the  edge  of  the  burned  area.  The  other  instances 
of  these  structures  cited  by  Mr.  Lander  also  bear  out  his  theory.  As 
a  rule,  they  were  located  on  rocky  cliffs  with  uniformly  shallow  soil  or 
in  other  situations  where  the  soil  in  which  the  Cicada  could  work  was 
shallow.  In  the  midst  of  one  of  the  largest  colonies  a  deep  gully 
occurred,  300  or  400  feet  wide,  in  which  the  soil  was  a  deep  loam.  Here 
there  were  no  domed  burrows,  although  the  hills  on  either  side  were 
covered  with  them,  and  yet  at  the  proper  season  the  Cicadas  appeared 
in  the  ordinary  way  in  this  gully  in  almost  incredible  numbers,  leaving 
their  customary  small  holes  of  exit  even  with  the  surface. 

The  occurrence  of  these  cones  as  described  by  Professor  Newbury,  at 
Rahway,  N".  J.,  is  also  confirmatory  of  this  theory,  a  shallow  covering 
of  soil  over  the  pupa  of  a  few  inches  only  being  left  by  the  slight  exca- 
vation made. 

Dr.  E.  G.  Love,  who  also  studied  the  i>roblem  of  the  Cicada  huts 
very  carefully,  agrees  in  the  main  with  Mr.  Lander,  but  differs  some- 
what in  his  explanation.    As  to  the  conditions  of  their  occurrence,  he 


1  Annual  Keport  for  1894. 


68 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


writes  as  follows:  "They  are  found  in  both  wet  and  dry  places;  on  the 
low  and  on  the  high  ground;  singly  and  in  colonies  of  many  thousands. 
One  hut,  even  in  a  damp  soil,  may  be  surrounded  by  a  dozen  holes, 
from  which  the  insects  emerge  without  making  any  huts,  and  often 
where  we  may  expect  to  find  them  they  are  never  seen."  Accepting 
the  theory  proposed  by  Mr.  Lander  for  the  condition  found  to  exist  in 
the  Nyack  region,  Dr.  Love  does  not  deem  it  entirely  adequate,  as  he 
says:  "The  huts  are  sometimes  found  in  places  in  which  the  soil  is  of 
great  depth  and  which  are  not  especially  exposed.  Such  was  the  case 
at  Baychester,  where  only  a  few  huts  were  found,  and  these  in  deep 
soil  and  so  well  protected  that  it  was  only  after  careful  search  that  they 
were  discovered. 91  He  offers  the  supplementary  explanation  that  since 
it  is  hardly  possible  that  the  Cicada  larva  can  determine  instinctively 
the  distance  to  be  traveled  in  their  upward  journey  nor  the  tune 
required  to  accomplish  it,  which  will  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  soil 
to  be  tunneled  and  the  directness  of  the  line  followed  in  their  excava- 
tions, it  may  often  happen  that  individuals  reach  the  surface  before 
they  are  prepared  to  assume  the  adult  condition,  and  the  number  so 
doing  would  be  greater  when  the  conditions  all  united  to  favor  a  short 
passage.  In  protected  localities  where  the  soil  is  deep  the  larvae  lying- 
near  the  surface  will  be  more  likely  to  emerge  before  their  pupal  changes 
are  complete,  and  would  thus  be  led  to  the  construction  of  these  cones. 
This,  he  says,  would  also  explain  their  seeking  temporary  shelter,  as 
they  do,  under  logs  and  stones,  as  has  been  previously  noted. 

The  explanation  offered  for  the  construction  of  the  Cicada  cones  by 
Mr.  Lander,  as  supplemented  by  Dr.  Love,  seems,  on  the  whole,  satis- 
factory and  adequate,  so  far  as  the  conditions  studied  by  these  writers 
are  concerned.  The  conditions  as  described  by  Mr.  Rathvon  do  not 
inform  us  as  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  but  both  in  the  Rathvon  case 
and  the  later  instance  described  by  Mr.  Davis,  the  wet  character  of 
the  ground  would  seem  to  indicate  a  soil  of  a  considerable  depth. 
This  would  seem  to  give  a  basis  of  reason  for  the  explanation  suggested 
by  Mr.  Rathvon  and  accepted  by  Professor  Riley.  A  complete  hypoth- 
esis, therefore,  seems  to  be  in  a  union  of  the  explanations  offered, 
namely,  that  the  cone-building  habit  is  induced  either  by  a  shallow 
soil,  proximity  of  the  pupae  to  the  surface,  or  conditions  of  unusual 
warmth,  which  brings  the  pupae  to  the  surface  in  advance  of  their 
normal  time,  and  more  rarely  to  unfavorable  conditions  of  excessive 
moisture. 

The  explanation  of  the  occurrence  of  these  structures  on  high  ground 
suggested  by  Professor  Riley  is  certainly  untenable.  He  surmised 
that  the  individuals  constructing  cones  in  such  situations  did  so 
because  impelled  by  habit  that  had  become  fixed  and  hereditary  in  the 
course  of  a  long  period  of  existence  in  low  wet  situations.  The  strict 
limitation  of  these  cones  to  areas  presenting  peculiar  conditions 
thoroughly  disproved  this  theory. 


Bull.  No  14.  New  Series,  Div.  of  Entomology,  U  S.  Dept.  Agr 


Plate  III. 


THE  HUTS,  Oil  CONES. 


69 


Some  notes  on  the  character  of  the  huts  may  be  appended.  The  fact 
that  there  is  no  exit  orifice  at  the  ground,  as  described  by  Mr.  Bath- 
von,  is  confirmed  by  the  studies  made  by  the  observers  cited  above, 
the  insect  invariably  clawing  its  way  out  at  the  top.  Mr.  Lander  notes 
one  instance  where  the  pupal  shell  remained  attached  and  stuck  in 
the  summit  of  the  burrow,  the  mature  insect  having  escaped.  Accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Lander,  also,  the  huts  are  probably  constructed  at  night,  the 
insect  taking  advantage  of  the  moist  air,  which  would  prevent  the  too 
rapid  drying  of  the  earth  used  in  making  the  little  tower  and  also  of 
the  delicate  soft  insect  itself.  As  described  by  Dr.  Lintner,  the  cham- 
bers are  constructed  with  soft  pellets  of  clay  or  mud  brought  up  from 
below  and  pressed  firmly  into  place.  On  examination.it  will  be  seen 
that  they  are  well  rounded  and  rather  firmly  compacted  within,  although 
the  marks  of  the  claws  of  the  pupa3  are  usually  visible  and  leaves  and 
sticks  are  often  incorporated  in  the  walls.  No  one  has  actually  observed 
the  insects  while  at  work  on  these  structures,  and,  although  Mr.  Lander 
repeatedly  broke  off  a  number  of  cones  to  see  if  they  would  be 
repaired,  the  insect  failed  to  do  so  while  being  watched.  Subsequently 
the  broken  portions  were  found  to  be  recapped,  but  at  some  little  dis- 
tance below  the  broken  edge.  In  this  connection  may  be  quoted  the 
observation  of  Mr.  Lawton,  of  Xyack,  cited  by  Dr.  Lintner.  Mr.  Law- 
ton  found  that  in  every  case  except  one  the  pupa  repaired  the  cones 
soon  after  the  injury  by  bringing  up  pellets  of  mud  and  roofing  over 
the  broken  portion  about  half  an  inch  from  the  top.  The  repairs  were 
begun  on  one  side  and  gradually  extended  over  the  opening  horizon- 
tally, there  being  no  attempt  to  form  a  dome-shaped  roof.  In  some 
instances  the  repairing  of  the  chamber  began  within  a  quarter  to  half 
an  hour  after  injury  had  been  caused,  and  within  three  or  four  hours 
the  opening  was  entirely  closed  over.  On  one  occasion  a  pupa  was 
caught  with  a  pellet  of  mud  in  its  claws. 

The  fact  that  these  cones  had  been  noted  only  on  two  or  three  occa- 
sions prior  to  1884  led  to  the  belief  that  they  were  very  rare  and 
abnormal.  Their  extraordinary  abundance  in  1884  in  connection  with 
Brood  XII  would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  are  by  no  means  as  rare  as 
heretofore  supposed,  and  it  maybe  inferred  that  the  absence  of  records 
is  simply  due  to  the  lack  of  examination,  especially  in  localities  where 
the  conditions  would  be  favorable  for  their  appearance.  This  view  is 
confirmed  by  the  announcement  in  a  recent  letter  from  Mr.  Davis  of 
the  discovery  of  a  cone  April  30,  1-S9S,  on  Staten  Island  belonging  to 
Brood  XVII,  which  appears  this  year.  He  says  that  the  cone  was  just 
appearing  above  the  dead  leaves,  which,  with  the  ground  also,  were 
"soaked  after  the  wet  days  just  past.*'  This  belief  is  participated  in 
by  Dr.  Lintner  in  his  last  report  on  this  interesting  subject.1  It  should 
not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  great  mass  of  the  insects  emerge 
without  making  any  superficial  construction  whatever. 


1  Twelfth  Report,  Insects.  New  York,  p.  283. 


70 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


THE  ACT  OF  TRANSFORMATION. 

The  phenomenon  connected  with  the  transformation  of  the  periodical 
Cicada  from  the  pupal  to  the  adult  stage  is  a  very  Interesting  one  and 
always  fills  the  observer  with  considerable  wonderment.  As  remarked 
by  Mr.  Butler,  when  these  insects  emerge  from  the  ground  it  is  usually 
with  a  rush,  and  a  lively  scramble  ensues  for  each  elevation  near  the 
point  of  their  emergence.  Trees,  bushes,  weeds,  poles,  stumps,  fences; 
in  fact,  everything  upon  which  they  can  get  above  the  level  of  their 
recent  homes  is  ascended.  The  instinct  which  has  caused  them  to 
burrow  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  still  drives  them  in  the  same  direc- 
tion upward,  and  they  seem  to  make  up  for  their  long  subterranean 
periods  and  their  weeks  of  waiting  near  the  surface  in  activity  when 
the  time  has  finally  arrived  for  their  emergence.  The  different  steps 
undergone  by  the  insects  in  transforming  from  the  pupal  to  the  adult 
stage  have  been  perhaps  most  acccurately  described  by  Professor  Riley, 
as  given  below.1  The  plate  accompanying  his  description  is  reproduced 
in  this  bulletin  as  a  frontispiece. 

The  unanimity  with  which  all  those  which  rise  within  a  certain  radius  of  a  given 
tree  crawl  in  a  bee  line  to  the  trunk  of  that  tree  is  most  interesting.  To  witness 
these  pupae  in  such  vast  numbers  that  one  can  not  step  on  the  ground  without  crush- 
ing several  swarming  out  of  their  subterranean  holes  and  scrambling  over  the 
ground,  all  convergiug  to  the  one  central  point,  and  then  in  a  steady  stream  clam- 
bering up  the  trunk  and  diverging  again  on  the  branches,  is  an  experience  not 
readily  forgotten  and  affording  good  food  for  speculation  on  the  nature  of  instinct. 
The  phenomenon  la  most  satisfactorily  witnessed  where  there  is  a  solitary  or  isolated 
tree. 

The  pupa*  (frontispiece,  rigs.  1  and  2)  begin  to  rise  as  soon  as  the  sun  is  hidden 
behind  the  horizon,  and  they  continue  until  by  9  o'clock  the  bulk  of  them  have 
risen.  A  few  stragglers  continue  until  midnight.  They  instinctively  crawl  along 
the  horizontal  branches  after  they  have  ascended  the  trunk  and  fasten  themselves 
in  auy  position,  but  preferably  in  a  horizontal  position  on  the  leaves  and  twigs  of 
the  lowermost  branches.  In  about  an  hour  after  risirg  and  settling  the  skin  splits 
down  the  middle  of  the  thorax  from  the  base  of  the  elypeus  to  the  base  of  the 
metanotum  ^frontispiece,  rig.  3  .  and  the  forming  Cicada  begins  to  issue.    *    *  * 

The  colors  of  the  forming  Cicada  arc  a  creamy  white,  with  the  exception  of  the 
reddish  eyes,  the  two  strongly  contrasting  black  patches  on  the  prothorax,  a  black 
dash  on  each  of  the  coxa?  and  sometimes  on  the  front  femora,  and  an  orange  tinge  at 
the  base  of  Avings. 

There  are  five  marked  positions  or  phases  in  this  act  of  evolving  from  the  pupa 
shell,  viz,  the  straight  or  extended,  the  hanging  or  head  downward,  the  clinging  or 
head  upward,  the  rlat  winged,  and,  finally,  the  roof  winged.  In  about  three  min- 
utes after  the  shell  splits  the  forming  imago  extends  from  the  rent  almost  on  the 
same  plane  with  the  pupa,  with  all  its  members  straight  and  still  hold  by  their  tips 
within  the  exuvium  (frontispiece,  fig.  4).  The  imago  then  gradually  bends  back- 
ward and  the  members  are  looseued  and  separated.  With  the  tip  of  the  abdomen 
held  within  the  exuvium,  the  rest  of  the  body  hangs  extended  at  right  angles  from 
it.  and  remains  in  this  position  from  ten  to  thirty  seconds  or  more,  the  wing  pads 
separating,  and  the  front  pair  stretching  at  right  angles  from  the  body  and  obliquely 
crossing  the  hind  pair  frontispiece,  figs.  5  aud  6).    They  then  gradually  swell,  and 


1  Annual  Kept.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1885,  pp.  237.238. 


THE  ADULT  INSECT  AND  ITS  HABITS. 


71 


during  all  this  time  the  legs  are  "becoming  firmer  and  assuming  the  ultimate  posi- 
tions. Suddenly  the  imago  bends  upward  with  a  good  deal  of  effort,  and,  clinging 
with  its  legs  to  the  first  object  reached,  whether  leaf,  twig,  or  its  own  shell,  with, 
draws  entirely  from  the  exuvium  and  hangs  for  the  first  time  with  its  head  up 
(frontispiece,  figs.  7  and  8).  Now  the  wings  perceptibly  swell  (frontispiece,  fig.  8) 
and  expand  until  they  are  fully  stretched  and  hang  flatly  over  the  back,  perfectly 
transparent,  with  beautiful  white  reining  (frontispiece,  fig.  9).  As  they  dry  they 
assume  the  roofed  position  (frontispiece,  fig.  10),  and  during  the  night  the  natural 
colors  of  the  species  are  gradually  assumed  (frontispiece,  fig.  11). 

The  time  required  in  the  transformation  varies,  and.  though  for  the  splitting  of  the 
skin  and  the  full  stretching  of  the  wings  iu  the  flat  position  the  time  is  usually  about 
twenty  minutes,  it  may  be,  under  precisely  similar  conditions,  five  or  six  times  as 
long.  But  there  are  few  more  beautiful  sights  than  to  see  this  fresh  forming  Cicada 
in  all  the  different  positions,  clinging  and  clustering  in  great  numbers  to  the  outside 
lower  leaves  and  branches  of  a  large  tree.  In  the  moonlight  such  a  tree  looks  for 
all  the  world  as  though  it  were  full  of  beautiful  white  blossoms  in  various  stages  of 
expansion. 

THE  ADULT  INSECT  AND  ITS  HABITS. 

NUMBERS  OF,  AND  LOCAL  DISTRIBUTION. 

Perhaps  a  better  idea  of  the  immense  numbers  in  which  these  insects 
appear  than  has  been  elsewhere  given  may  be  gained  by  quoting  some 
figures  given  by  Mr.  McCook.  Under  one  tree  he  counted  9,000  burrows, 
and  under  another,  a  small  birch,  the  number  of  exit  lioles  was  estimated 
at  22,500  ;  and  since  many  of  the  burrows  interlaced  underground,  and 
several  insects  emerged  from  the  same  opening,  even  these  figures  do 
not  indicate  the  actual  numbers.  In  another  case  668  openings  were 
counted  in  a  space  10  feet  by  1  feet,  and  17  distinct  openings  in  a  space 
6  inches  square. 

Mr.  Davis,  referring  to  Brood  XII  on  Staten  Island  in  1894,  says: 
"About  some  of  the  trees  the  pupa  shells  became  so  numerous  that 
they  completely  hid  the  ground  itself.  At  dusk  the  sound  of  the  many 
insects  climbing  up  the  tree  trunks  was  quite  audible,  particularly 
vigorous  pupae  ascending  the  trees  to  the  height  of  30  feet." 

As  noted  by  Mr.  Farmsley,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  the  Cicadas  do  not 
appear  very  numerously  on  tops  of  mountains  within  an  infested  area, 
but  gradually  decrease  in  numbers  as  one  ascends,  the  greater  scarcity 
being  noticeable  both  to  the  eye  and  the  ear,  the  rattling  chorus 
growing  less  and  less  strong. 

On  the  authority  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  the  diminishing  of  the  Cicada  in 
numbers  as  one  ascends  to  higher  elevations  is  apparently  not  always 
true.  Mr.  Hopkins  describes  driving  for  a  day  through  the  Cicada 
district  of  West  Virginia  in  1897,  on  the  occasion  of  the  reappearance 
of  the  17-year  Brood  XV,  and  states  that  as  he  approached  the  eastern 
borders  of  Preston  County  the  Cicadas  became  more  numerous,  and  as 
the  mountain  west  of  Crauesville  was  ascended  the  Cicada  was  found, 
at  an  elevation  of  2,600  to  2,800  feet,  to  occur  in  far  greater  numbers 
than  at  any  point  previously  traversed.  The  leaves  and  twigs  of  the 
trees  were  literally  covered  with  the  insects  and  the  twigs  were  bend- 


72 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


tag  from  their  weight.  This  point  seems  to  have  been  the  eastern 
border  of  the  swarm,  and  a  few  rods  farther  up  the  Cicadas  became 
very  scattered  and  soon  ceased  altogether. 

They  often  also  appear  in  greatest  number  in  rather  well-defined 
districts  within  the  general  range  of  the  brood,  or,  in  other  words,  are 
irregular  in  local  distribution.  This  variation  in  abundance  is  due  in 
some  cases  to  differences  in  the  character  of  the  soil,  and  in  others  per- 
haps to  varying  surface  conditions,  as  of  timber  growth,  etc.  They 
prefer,  apparently,  white  oak  groves,  and  are  most  abundant  where 
the  land  is  high  and  well  drained  and  the  soil  a  rich  sandy  loam  with 
a  sandy  or  soft  clay  subsoil.  The  irregularity  of  local  distribution  is 
confirmed  also  by  the  experience  of  Mr.  Davis  on  Staten  Island,  who 
reports  of  the  1894  brood  that  they  were  very  rare  in  sandy  districts, 
while  in  districts  less  sandy  they  appeared  by  thousands.  He  says 
also  that  they  occurred  by  millions  on  certain  hills  and  in  certain  bits 
of  woodland,  yet  at  a  short  distance  away,  under  apparently  unaltered 
conditions,  they  were  very  scantily  represented. 

The  local  abundance  of  the  Cicada  in  well-defined  districts  is  also  to 
be  explained  by  the  fact,  already  noted,  that  the  winged  insect  is  slug- 
gish and  scatters  but  little  from  the  point  of  emergence,  which,  with 
favoring  circumstances,  tends  constantly  to  concentrate  rather  than  to 
scatter  the  species. 

THE  FOOD  HABITS  OF  THE  ADULT  INSECT. 

The  taking  of  food  in  the  adult  stage  seems  to  be  of  rare  occurrence, 
and  has  been  observed  and  commented  upon  by  few  of  the  entomolo- 
gists who  have  studied  the  species.  That  the  periodical  Cicada  feeds 
at  all  has  even  been  questioned,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  in  some  of 
the  cases  where  it  was  supposed  to  have  been  feeding  the  action  of  the 
insect  was  misinterpreted.  Such  feeding  is  limited,  at  any  rate,  to  the 
female,  as  in  this  sex  only  do  we  find  a  perfect  digestive  apparatus, 
that  of  the  male  being  rudimentary.  One  of  the  most  reliable  accounts 
of  the  feeding  of  the  adult  Cicada  is  given  by  Mr.  Davis,  who  reports 
that  the  black  birch  and  the  sweet  gum  are  its  favorite  food  plants,  and 
that  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  rows  of  Cicadas  along  the  branches  of 
these  trees  with  their  beaks  embedded  in  the  bark. 

Whether  in  this  case  all  of  the  insects  were  actually  feeding  or  not 
is  doubtful,  and  at  any  rate  no  appreciable  injury  from  the  feeding  of 
the  adult  insect  has  ever  been  noted,  even  on  trees  where  they  occurred 
in  countless  myriads. 

THE  CICADA  AS  AN  ARTICLE  OF  FOOD. 

The  fact  has  already  been  alluded  to  that  the  common  name  "locust," 
given  by  the  early  colonists  to  this  insect,  was  undoubtedly  owing  to 
a  confusion  of  the  Cicada  with  the  migratory  locust  of  the  Orient, 
which  has  been  an  article  of  diet  from  the  earliest  times,  and  is  so 


THE  CICADA  AS  AN  ARTICLE  OF  FOOD. 


73 


employed  at  the  present  day,  in  various  places  in  northern  Africa  and 
eastern  Asia.  A  similar  locust  is  also  now  highly  esteemed  as  a  food, 
article  in  the  island  of  Madagascar.  All  of  these  locusts  belong,  how- 
ever, to  the  class  of  insects  known  as  grasshoppers,  and  on  this  conti- 
nent the  Eocky  Mountain  grasshopper  or  locust  has  also,  as  is  well 
known,  been  long  used  as  an  article  of  food  by  certain  Indian  tribes. 

That  the  Cicada  was  eaten  by  the  red  men  of  America,  both  before 
and  after  the  coming  of  the  colonists,  is  indicated  in  a  memorandum, 
dated  1715,  left  by  the  Eev.  Andrew  Sandel,  of  Philadelphia,  who, 
referring  to  the  use  of  locusts  as  food  in  eastern  Asia,  states  also  that 
the  Cicada  is  so  used  by  the  Indians.  Dr.  Asa  Fitch  corroborates  this 
statement,  giving  as  his  authority  Mr.  W.  S.  Robertson,  who  informs 
him  "that  the  Indians  make  the  different  species  of  Cicada  an  article 
of  diet,  every  year  gathering  quantities  of  them  and  preparing  them 
for  the  table  by  roasting  in  a  hot  oven,  stirring  them  until  they  are 
well  browned." 

No  practical  test  was  made  with  the  Cicada  as  an  article  of  human 
food  until  the  experiments  instituted  by  Professor  Eiley  and  carried 
out  by  Dr.  Howard  in  the  early  summer  of  1885.  The  following  is  an 
account  of  Dr.  Howard's  experiments: 

"With  the  aid  of  the  Doctor's  (Riley's)  cook  he  had  prepared  a  plain  stew,  a  thick 
milk  stew,  and  a  broil.  The  Cicada1  were  collected  just  as  they  emerged  from  pupa3, 
and  were  thrown  into  cold  water,  in  which  they  remained  over  night.  They  were 
cooked  the  next  morning,  and  served  at  breakfast  time.  They  imparted  a  distinct 
and  uot  unpleasant  flavor  to  the  stew,  but  were  not  at  all  palatable  themselves,  as 
they  were  reduced  to  nothing  but  bits  of  flabby  skin.  The  broil  lacked  substance. 
The  most  palatable  method  of  cooking  is  to  fry  in  batter,  when  they  remind  one  of 
shrimps.    They  will  never  prove  a  delicacy.1 

Mr.  T.  A.  Keleher,  who  sampled  some  of  the  dishes  above  described, 
has  informed  the  writer  that  he  found  the  Cicadas  fried  in  batter  to  be 
most  palatable,  and  that  he  much  preferred  them  to  oysters  or  shrimps. 

The  great  liking  manifested  by  various  animals  for  the  pupae  before 
and  after  they  have  emerged  and  for  the  transforming  adults  has 
already  been  referred  to.    Dr.  Hildreth,  writing  in  1830,  says: 

While  here  they  served  for  food  for  all  of  the  carnivorous  and  insect-eating 
animals.  Hogs  eat  them  in  preference  to  any  other  food;  squirrels,  birds,  domestic 
fowls,  etc.,  fatten  on  them.  So  much  were  they  attracted  by  the  Cicada-  that  very 
few  birds  were  seen  around  our  gardens  during  their  continuance,  and  our  cherries, 
etc.,  remained  unmolested. - 

He  also  states  that  when  the  Cicadas  first  leave  the  earth  they  are 
plump  and  full  of  oily  juices ;  so  much  so  that  they  arc  employed  in 
making  soap. 

Mr.  John  Bartram.  writing  of  the  brood  which  appeared  near  Phila- 
delphia in  1749  and  referring  to  the  pupae  as  they  appeared  near  the 
surface  of  the  ground  toward  the  end  of  April,  says  that  they  were  then 

1  Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Washington,  Vol.  \,  p.  25). 
-Journal  of  Science.  1830,  Vol.  XVIII,  p.  47. 


74 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


full  of  a  thick  white  matter  like  cream  and  that  hogs  rooted  up  the 
ground  a  foot  deep  in  search  of  them.  Dr.  Potter  refers  briefly  to  the 
fact  that  great  numbers  of  them  are  "devoured  by  hogs,  squirrels,  all 
kinds  of  poultry,  and  birds,  which  live  and  fatten  on  them." 

That  they  are  sometimes  considered  to  be  poisonous  when  made  an 
object  of  food  is  indicated  in  the  following  quotation  from  Dr.  Phares. 
He  says : 

Many  species  of  domestic  and  wild  birds,  quadrupeds,  and  other  animals  cat  the 
Cicadas  greedily  and  with  impunity.  In  1859  they  were  said  to  have  killed  a  few 
hogs  in  Amite  County.  They  have  no  poison  about  them,  yet  it  i.s  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  an  occasioual  hungry  hog  or  other  animal,  eating  very  largely  of  such 
food,  should  become  sick  or  even  die.  Dogs  become  very  fond  of  them.  One  evening 
I  watched  a  bitch  catching  and  eating  so  many  that  I  expected  her  to  become  sick 
from  her  rich  feast  of  fat  things,  but  she  was  in  no  way  injured.  Indeed,  I  have 
never  seen  any  animal  injured  or  otherwise. 

As  has  been  indicated  elsewhere,  the  liking  of  domestic  animals  and 
birds,  especially  the  English  sparrow,  for  the  Cicadas,  both  in  their 
newly  emerged  condition  and  in  the  mature  state,  is  one  of  the  most 
l^otent  influences  in  exterminating  or  greatly  reducing  the  abundance 
of  this  insect  in  thickly  settled  districts. 

The  use  of  the  newly  emerged  and  succulent  Cicadas  as  an  article  of 
human  diet  has  merely  a  theoretical  interest,  because,  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son, they  occur  too  rarely  to  have  any  real  value.  There  is  also  the  much 
stronger  objection  in  the  instinctive  repugnance  wdiich  all  insects  seem 
to  inspire  as  an  article  of  food  to  most  civilized  nations.  Theoretically, 
the  Cicada,  collected  at  the  proper  time  and  suitably  dressed  and  served, 
should  be  a  rather  attractive  food.  The  larva?  have  lived  solely  on 
vegetable  matter  of  the  cleanest  and  most  wholesome  sort,  and  sup- 
posedly, therefore,  would  be  much  more  palatable  and  suitable  for  food 
than  the  oyster,  with  its  scavenger  habit  of  living  in  the  muddy  ooze  of 
river  bottoms,  or  many  other  animals  which  are  highly  prized  and 
which  have  not  half  so  clean  a  record  as  the  periodical  Cicada. 

OVIPOSITION  AND  ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE  PLANT. 

The  Cicada  becomes  almost  perfectly  hardened  and  mature  during  the 
first  day  of  its  aerial  life,  and  does  not  wait  many  days  before  beginning 
the  important  business  of  its  existence  in  the  perfect  stage,  namely, 
depositing  the  eggs  for  another  brood.  Courtship  occupies  a  compara- 
tively short  time,  and  the  sexes  are  found  together  usually  within  a 
week  after  the  emergence  of  the  first  individuals.  Within  two  weeks 
the  egg  punctures  begin  to  appear  here  and  there  in  the  twigs.  From 
this  time  on  oviposition  proceeds  very  rapidly,  and  thousands  of  individ- 
uals may  often  be  noted  working  at  the  same  time  on  the  same  tree. 

PLANTS  SELECTED. 

The  fact  that  the  Cicada  is  not  especially  choice  in  its  selection  of 
trees  in  which  to  place  its  eggs  is  patent  to  any  careful  observer, 
although  a  preference  is  generally  shown  for  oaks  and  hickories,  and 


OVIPOSITION  AND  ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE  PLANT. 


75 


the  apple  among  the  fruit  trees.  Any  plant  which  presents  itself  is, 
however,  accepted,  often  herbaceous  ones  and  occasionally  evergreens, 
although  the  sticky  resinous  sap  of  the  latter  seems  to  be  distasteful 
to  these  insects.  No  careful,  complete  list  of  plants  in  which  they  ovi- 
posit has  been  made,  although  several  observers  have  made  rather 
extensive  lists,  notably  Mr.  Butler  and  Mr.  Davis,  the  latter  having 
observed  the  Cicadas  laying  their  eggs  in  between  seventy  and  eighty 
trees,  bushes,  and  herbaceous  plants  on  Staten  Island  in  1894,  and 
states  also  that  he  had  evidently  not  nearly  reached  the  limits  of  plants. 
In  some  cases  even  the  large  petioles  of  plants,  like  the  horse-chestnuts, 
had  been  oviposited  in.  A  list  of  plants  could  be  given  which  have 
been  put  on  record,  but  it  would  have  but  little  value,  as  in  every  dis- 
trict in  which  they  appear  they  will  oviposit  in  practically  all  plants 
which  come  their  way,  with  the  exception  of  pines,  as  already  stated, 
which  are  ordinarily  exempt. 

That  they  are  not  very  choice  in  this  matter  is  shown  by  a  case  of 
faulty  instinct  reported  by  Mr.  Hunter  Nichols,  who  observed  a  female  to 
alight  on  the  iron  rod  of  a  bridge  and  attempt  to  insert  her  eggs,  even 
extruding  them  to  the  number  of  seven,  some  of  whichremained  attached 
to  the  rod  and  the  others  falling  to  the  ground.  Other  similar  cases  of 
error  on  the  part  of  the  insect  are  noted  by  Mr.  Davis.  In  one  instance 
a  female  had  attempted  to  insert  her  eggs  in  the  very  hard  stem  of 
catbriar  (SmiJax  rotund  [folia)  and  in  another  place  had  thrust  her 
ovipositor  entirely  through  the  stem  of  a  plant  only  to  find  that  it  was 
hollow. 

The  part  of  the  plant  selected  for  a  receptacle  for  the  eggs  is  almost 
invariably  the  twigs  of  the  previous  year's  growth.  When  larger  limbs 
are  chosen,  as  occasionally  happens,  the  female  evinces  her  dislike  for 
them  by  constructing  only  a  nest  or  two  instead  of  the  long  series  of 
slits  which  are  usually  characteristic  of  her  work  on  limbs  of  newer 
growth. 

RESULT  TO  THE  PLANT  OF  OVIPOSITION. 

The  effect  on  the  plant  of  the  cutting  of  the  smaller  twigs  by  the 
female  in  depositing  her  eggs  has  been  often  described,  and  is  apt  to 
be  especially  noteworthy  and  disastrous  in  the  case  of  such  favorite 
trees  as  the  oak,  hickory,  and  apple,  and  in  the  case  of  the  latter,  espe- 
cially in  young  orchards  surrounded  by  woods,  or  in  recent  clearings. 
(See  fig.  30.)  The  weakening  of  the  twigs  by  the  punctures  causes  many 
of  them  to  be  partly  broken  off  by  the  winds,  and  the  brown,  withered 
leaves  are  conspicuous  for  the  remainder  of  the  summer.  Many  of  the 
twigs  break  off  entirely  and  fall  to  the  ground,  and  the  general  twig 
pruning  which  results  is  often  of  considerable  extent,  giving  the  for- 
ests, as  sometimes  described,  a  gloomy  appearance,  or  as  though 
scorched  by  fire,  from  the  number  of  the  extremities  of  twigs  thus 
injured.  With  large  shade  trees,  and  particularly  trees  in  forests, 
the  damage  is  not  often  excessive,  and  the  recovery  is  usually  complete, 


76 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


or  nearly  so,  within  two  or  three  years.  With  fruit  trees  and  nursery 
stock,  on  the  other  hand,  and  especially  on  newly  cleared  ground  or  iu 

the  vicinity  of  forests  or  groves  where 
the  Cicada  abounds,  the  injury  is  apt 
to  tie  very  considerable. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter 
from  Mr.  William  G.  Wayne,  of  Seneca 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  illustrates  the  injury  some- 
times experienced.  Keferiing  to  the 
Hudson  Eiver  Valley  brood  appearing 
in  182G,  he  says:  "They  destroyed  the 
fruitage  of  the  orchards  almost  com- 
pletely. Nearly  all  the  tender  branches 
of  the  trees  were  so  wounded  in  the 
deposit  of  the  eggs  that  they  broke 
from  the  main  stems  in  the  following 
year  and  fell  to  the  ground,  thus  com- 
pletely denuding  the  trees  of  their  fruit- 
bearing  branches."1 

Peach,  pear,  and  apple  trees  suffer 
most,  and  even  grapevines  are  often 
badly  injured.  With  fruit  trees  in  vig- 
orous condition  and  growing  rapidly, 
however,  the  wounds  heal  in  a  few 
years  so  that  often  the 
scars  can  scarcely  be 
detected,  but,  as 
shown  by  Mr.  A.  D. 
Hopkins,  with  recently 
transplanted  trees,  the 
growth  of  which  is 
slow,  and  with  the 
fruiting  and  terminal 
branches  of  old  trees 
which  lack  vigor,  the 
wounds  do  not  heal 
often  for  many  years. 
Another  form  of  injury  has  been  charged  to  this 
insect  by  some  of  the  earlier  writers,  viz,  that  after 
filling  the  twigs  with  her  egg  clusters  the  female  com- 
pletely or  partly  severs  it,  causing  it  to  break  off  and 
die.  This  opinion  is  totally  without  foundation  in  fact, 
and  is  undoubtedly  based  partly  on  the  observation 
that  many  twigs  are  broken  by  the  winds  and  partly 
on  a  confusion  of  the  work  of  the  Cicada  with  that  of  certain  oak- 
pruning  beetles,  which  after  ovipositing  in  the  branches,  cut  them 


FlG.  30.— Egg  puncture^  of  Cicada  :  a,  twig 
s  ho  win  g  reeen  t  pun  ctures,  from  front  and 
side,  and  illustrating  manner  of  break- 
ing; b,  twig  showing  older  punctures, 
with  retraction  of  bark  and  more  fully 
displaying  the  arrangement  of  fibers- 
natural  size  (after  Riley). 


FlG.  31.— Twigshow- 
ing  scars  from 
punctures  after  1  he 
second  year  (after 
Riley). 


Liutuer,  Second  Report,  p.  177. 


OVIPOSITION  AND  ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE  PLANT. 


77 


nearly  off,  causing  tbem  to  fall  to  the  ground,  thus  furnishing  their 
larvae  the  dead  or  dying  wood  in  which  they  develop. 

The  absurdity  of  the  theory  that  the  Cicada  purposely  cuts  the  limbs 
to  weaken  them  and  cause  them  to  break  off  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
wherever  a  limb  is  broken,  through  the  weakening  from  excessive  punc- 
turing or  other  causes,  and  falls  to  the  ground,  the  drying  up  of  the 
limb  invariably  causes  the  eggs  to  shrivel  and  die.  The  breaking  off 
of  limbs,  therefore,  is  purely  accidental,  and  is  confined,  so  far  as  due 


Fig.  32.— Cicada  scars  in  hard-maple  twigs  after  seventeen  years  (Uopkin.s). 


to  the  Cicada,  to  the  smaller  terminal  twigs  which  have  been  too 
thickly  oviposited  in,  the  female  by  so  doing  defeating  her  own  object. 
The  proportion  of  such  broken  and  fallen  twigs,  while  often  great  enough 
to  give  the  tree  a  deadened  appearance,  is  small  in  comparison  with  the 
many  thicker  and  stouter  limbs  which  remain  attached,  and  probably 
more  than  90  per  cent  of  all  the  eggs,  and  more  than  99  per  cent  of 
those  that  ultimately  hatch,  are  laid  in  twigs  which  never  break  off, 
though  often  much  injured.    A  very  few  young  may  come  from  twigs 


78 


THE   PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


which  are  partly  broken  off",  but  in  sueli  instances  the  flow  of  sap  has 
not  been  entirely  stopped. 

The  after  effect  of  the  egg  punctures  on  t lie  twigs  is  shown  in  tlie 
deformity  which  characterizes  their  subsequent  growth.  In  the  pro- 
cess of  Healing  the  punctures  usually  assume  a  wart  or  knot  like 
appearance,  as  represented  in  the  accompanying  illustration  of  an 
apple  twig  (fig.  31.)  The  effect  of  punctures  in  hard  maple  twigs  after 
the  lapse  of  seventeen  years  is  shown  in  fig.  32,  and  on  various  plants 
in  Plate  I  (see  p.  10)  these  illustrations  being  kindly  loaned  me  by  Mr. 
Hopkins.'  Though  ultimately  healing  over  exteriorly  with  the  growth 
of  the  surrounding  wood,  there  remains  in  the  center  of  the  twig  a  dead 
spot,  and  the  white,  glistening  egg  shells  of  the  escaping  larva'  have 
been  found  in  place  six  years  after  they  have  been  inserted  in  the  twig 
by  the  female  Cicada. 

Considerable  danger  follows  the  work  of  the  Cicada,  in  that  as  long- 
as  the  wounds  remain  open  or  as  dead  spots  on  the  limbs  they  are  not 
only  a  source  of  weakness  in  the  case  of  winds,  but  they  offer  attract- 
ive situations  for  the  attacks  of  various  wood-boring  insects.  If  left 
to  themselves  the  limbs  might  entirely  recover,  except  for  the  scars, 
but  the  borers  gaining  entrance  through  these  spots  complete  the  work 
of  destruction  which  the  Cicada  began.  Furthermore,  such  open 
wounds  or  pockets  in  the  twigs  of  fruit  trees  Mr.  Hopkins  has  shown 
to  be  favorite  points  of  attack  for  the  woolly  aphis,  the  presence  of 
which  not  only  prevents  the  wounds  from  healing  but  causes  additional 
abnormal  growth,  adding  considerably  to  the  injury  to  the  branches, 
and  making  them  more  liable  to  the  attacks  of  other  insects. 

METHOD  OF  INSERTING  THE  EGGS. 

The  work  of  the  female  Cicada  in  inserting  her  eggs  is  an  interesting 
subject  for  study,  and  so  little  does  she  mind  the  presence  of  an 
observer  that  the  operation  can  be  closely  watched  without  her  exhibit- 
ing any  alarm.  The  position  taken  is  almost  invariably  with  the  head 
upward  or  directed  toward  the  tip  of  the  branch,  the  work  being  steadily 
prosecuted  in  that  direction.  When  her  course  is  interfered  with  by 
the  occurrence  of  side  shoots,  instead  of  moving  to  one  side  or  the 
other  she  reverses  her  position  and  thus  follows  her  row  of  punctures 
in  a  straight  line  completely  to  the  base  of  the  intervening  shoot.  The 
branch  selected  is  ordinarily  of  a  size  which  the  female  can  surround 
and  clasp  firmly  with  her  legs  to  give  her  the  strong  attachment  neces- 
sary to  enable  her  to  force  her  ovipositor  into  the  woody  tissues. 

The  exact  method  of  making  the  egg  fissure  and  depositing  the  eggs 
has  hitherto,  in  the  main,  been  either  very  briefly  referred  to,  or  the 
actions  of  the  insect  have  been  inaccurately  interpreted.  The  descrip- 
tion of  this  process,  hitherto  generally  accepted  and  quoted,  is  that  given 
by  Dr.  Harris,  substantially  as  follows:  Eaising  her  body  somewhat 

i  Bulletin  50,  W.  Va.  Ag.  Ex.  Sta.,  Pis.  II  and  IV. 


METHOD  OF  INSERTING  THE  EGGS. 


79 


above  the  twig,  the  point  of  her  ovipostor  is  brought  to  bear  on  the 
bark  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees,  and  is  thrust  slowly  and  repeatedly  into 
the  bark  and  wood,  the  two  lateral  saws  working  in  alternation.  When 
fully  inserted  the  instrument  is  pried  upward  by  a  motion  of  the  abdo- 
men, raising  and  loosening  in  this  way  little  fibers  of  wood  which, 
remaining  attached,  form  a  sort  of  covering  for  the  egg  fissure  or  nest. 
The  cutting  normally  extends  nearly  to  the  pith  or  about  one-twelfth  of 
an  inch  in  depth,  and  is  continued  until  space  is  made  to  receive  from 
ten  to  twenty  eggs.  After  preparing  the  egg  nest  as  described,  the 
female  moves  back  to  the  point  of  commencement  and  again  thrusts  in 
her  ovipositor,  using  the  two  side  pieces  as  grooves  or  channels  to  con- 
vey the  eggs  into  the 
twigs,  where  they  are 
placed  in  pairs,  sepa- 
rated by  a  central 
tongue  of  woody  fiber, 
which  has  been  left 
undisturbed,  and 
which  is  wider  at  the 
bottom  than  at  the 
top.  Two  eggs  hav- 
ing been  inserted  in 
the  portion  of  the  fis- 
sure first  made,  the 
ovipositor  is  with- 
drawn and  again  in- 
serted, and  two  more 
eggs  are  placed  in 
line  with  the  first;  this  operation  being  continued  until  the  egg  nest 
is  filled.  A  step  or  two  forward  is  then  taken,  and  after  a  brief  pause 
a  new  egg  nest  is  begun.  About  fifteen  minutes  is  occupied  in  pre- 
paring and  filling  one  of  these  nests  with  eggs. 

The  above  account  is  substantially  correct  so  far  as  the  superficial 
appearances  are  concerned.  Instead,  however,  of  first  making  an  egg 
nest  and  afterwards  filling  it  with  eggs  in  pairs,  as  described,  the  female 
deposits  the  row  of  eggs  on  one  side  as  she  makes  the  original  cutting 
in  the  bark.  She  then  moves  back,  and.  swinging  a  little  to  one  side, 
inserts  through  the  same  hole  the  second  row  of  eggs  parallel  with  the 
first,  thus  leaving  a  small  bit  of  undisturbed  wood  fiber  between  the 
two  rows  of  eggs.  This  method  of  inserting  the  eggs  corresponds  to 
that  known  to  be  true  of  allied  insects  which  deposit  their  eggs  in  prac- 
tically the  same  manner,  and  is  confirmed  also  by  the  careful  observa- 
tions made  by  Mr.  Ira  H.  Lawton,  of  Xyack,  X.  Y..  in  1894,  and  reported 
by  Professor  Lintner.1  Mr.  Lawton  found  that  the  placing  of  each  row 
of  eggs  occupied  a  little  over  twenty  minutes,  or,  for  the  construction 


Fig.  33.— Egg  nest  of  the  Cicada  :  a,  recent  puncture,  front  view ;  b, 
same,  surface  removed  to  show  arrangement  of  eggs,  from  above; 
c,  same,  side  view;  rf,  egg  cavity  exposed  after  eggs  are  removed, 
and  showing  the  sculpture  left  by  the  ovipositor— all  enlarged 
(after  Kiley). 


1  Twelfth  Report,  Insects,  New  York,  p.  275. 
20110— No.  14  G 


80 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


and  filling  of  the  double  egg  nest,  some  forty-five  minutes.  During  the 
cutting  of  the  fissure  the  ovipositor  made  about  eighty  strokes  per 
minute,  and  after  four  chambers  were  made  the  female  would  indulge 
in  a  short  rest. 

The  number  of  nests  made  in  a  single  twig  varies  from  four  or  five  to 
fifteen  or  twenty,  the  latter  number  being  not  at  all  unusual,  and  as 
many  as  fifty  egg  nests  in  a  line,  each  containing  fourteen  to  twenty 
eggs,  have  been  found  in  a  single  limb.  The  punctures  are  often 
made  so  close  to  each  other  that  they  sometimes  run  together,  so  as  to 
form  a  continuous  slit  for  2  or  3  inches. 

The  Cicada  passes  from  one  limb  or  from  one  tree  to  another  until 
she  has  exhausted  her  store  of  eggs,  which  have  been  estimated  to  num- 
ber from  four  to  six  hundred.  By  the  time  the  egg-laying  is  completed 
the  female  becomes  so  weak  from  her  incessant  labor  that  she  falls  to 
the  ground  and  perishes  or  soon  becomes  a  victim  to  her  various  natural 
enemies. 

THE  GROWTH  AND  HATCHING  OF  THE  EGGS. 

The  eggs  remain  in  the  twigs  for  six  or  seven  weeks  after  being 
deposited.  Professor  Potter  was  one  of  the  first  to  determine  this 
rather  unusually  long  egg  period  by  marking  certain  egg  clusters  and 
watching  them  until  the  young  larvae  were  disclosed.  He  reports  that 
from  eggs  deposited  on  the  5th  of  June  he  witnessed  the  hatching  of 
the  young  on  the  28th  of  July.  This  statement  is  also  corroborated  by 
Dr.  Smith.    Miss  Morris  and  others  record  a  shorter  period,  and  there 

is  undoubtedly  considerable  variation  due 
to  weather  conditions,  but  the  normal 
period,  as  shown  by  the  abundant  records 
of  this  office  and  many  observers,  since 
those  noted,  ranges,  as  stated,  from  six 

Fig.  34.— Egg,  much  enlarged,  showing      ,  i 
youngahout  to  he  disclosed  (original).     10  seven  WCeKS. 

Some  interesting  instances  have  been 
noted  of  retarded  development  of  eggs  in  plants  yielding  gummy  exuda 
tious  which  had  hermetically  closed  the  nests  from  the  outer  air.  Pro- 
fessor Riley  notes  a  case  of  this  kind  where  the  eggs  remained  sound 
and  unhatched  until  the  end  of  the  year,  long  after  the  trees  had  shed 
their  foliage.  Except  in  the  extreme  south,  where  all  of  the  periods 
are  somewhat  earlier,  the  eggs  are  deposited  chiefly  in  the  month  of 
June  and  most  abundantly  about  the  middle  of  this  month,  and  the 
hatching  period  ranges  from  the  middle  of  July  to  the  first  of  August. 

The  egg  is  a  very  delicate,  pearly- white  object,  about  one-twelfth  of  an 
inch  long,  tapering  to  an  obtuse  point  at  either  end  and  slightly  curved. 
The  shell  is  very  thin  and  transparent,  the  form  of  the  larval  insect  show- 
ing through  some  time  before  hatching.  As  is  the  case  with  most  insects 
that  oviposit  in  the  living  parts  of  plants,  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada  receive 
a  certain  nourishment  from  the  plant  and  actually  increase  in  size 
before  hatching,  by  absorption  of  the  juices  from  the  adjacent  plant  cells. 


THE  GROWTH  AND  HATCHING  OF  THE  EGGS. 


81 


Discussing  the  development  of  the  embryo,  Dr.  Potter  says  that  on 
the  fifteenth  day  a  change  in  color  in  the  egg  may  be  noted,  and  from 
this  time  on  there  is  a  gradual  increase  in  size,  the  embryo  slowly 
assuming  form — the  eye  becoming  especially  prominent  some  ten  days 
before  hatching  (fig.  34). 

The  larval  Cicada  makes  its  escape  by  rupturing  the  eggshell  over 
the  back,  from  the  upper  end  downward  about  half  way,  by  muscular 
movements,  accompanied  with  an  inflation  of  the  head  and  forward 
parts  of  the  body.  The  rupture  in  the  shell  once  made,  the  larva  works 
its  way  out  by  twistings  and  contortions  until  the  tip  of  its  body  only 
remains  in  the  egg  slit  of  the  shell.  The  entire  insect,  however,  is  still 
inclosed  in  an  extremely  delicate  and  almost  invisible  membrane 
(amnion),  and  after  resting  a  short  time  the  violent  movements  are 
agaiu  resumed,  and  by  wriggling,  twisting,  and  inflating  its  head, 
thorax,  and  anterior  parts  the  thin  enveloping  skin  is  burst  open,  and 
by  gradual  efforts,  coupled  with  contractions  and  expansions  of  the 
body,  the  larva  draws  itself  out,  leaving  the  thin  white  skin  held  in  the 
tip  of  the  eggshell.  The  larva?  nearest  the  openiug  come  out  first,  the 
others  following  in  regular  order,  each  usually  pushing  out  the  aban- 
doned eggshell  of  the  preceding  one, 
though  commonly  several  remain  at- 
tached to  the  loose  woody  fibers  of  the 
egg  nest. 

Almost  at  the  moment  that  it  becomes 
free  the  larva  begins  to  run  actively 
about  with  the  quick  motions  of  an  ant,    F,°-  ^-^JZu^".'^ 
but  soon  goes  to  the  side  of  the  limb, 

loosens  its  hold,  and  deliberately  falls  to  the  ground,  its  specific  gravity 
being  so  slight  that  it  passes  through  the  air  as  gently  as  a  feather 
and  receives  no  injury.  The  peculiar  instinct  which  impels  this  newly 
hatched  larva  to  thus  precipitate  itself  into  space  without  the  least 
knowledge  of  the  distance  to  the  ground  or  the  result  of  its  venture  has 
been  often  commented  upon,  but  is  not  more  remarkable  than  other 
features  in  the  life  history  of  this  species. 

On  coming  to  the  earth  the  larva  immediately  penetrates  it,  usually 
entering  at  a  crack  or  fissure,  or  at  the  base  of  some  herbaceous  plant, 
and  begins  the  long  period  of  its  subterranean  life. 

The  newly  hatched  larva  (fig.  35)  is  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  long 
and  differs  considerably  in  general  form  from  the  later  larval  stages, 
while  at  the  same  time  presenting  the  general  structural  characteristics 
shown  in  the  latter.  It  has,  for  example,  a  much  longer  and  distinctly 
eight-jointed  antenna,  and  the  head  is  longer  in  proportion  to  the  body. 
It  is  yellowish  white  iu  general  color,  except  the  eyes  and  the  claws  of 
the  anterior  legs,  which  are  reddish.  It  is  sparsely  covered  with  minute 
hairs.  In  form  it  is  quite  elongate  and  subcylindrical,  and  it  is  partic- 
ularly notable  for  its  very  prominent  lobster-like  front  legs. 


82 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


THE  UNDERGROUND  LIFE  OF  THE  CICADA. 

EXPERIMENTAL  PROOFS  OF  THE  LONG/  UNDERGROUND  LIFE. 

The  aerial  life  and  habits  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  which  have  so  far 
only  been  discussed,  are  open  to  easy  study  and  have  been  fairly  well 
understood,  certainly  since  the  time  of  Hildreth,  Potter,  and  Smith ; 
but  from  the  time  of  the  disappearance  of  the  young  larva  beneath  the 
soil  and  thereafter,  throughout  its  long  hypogean  existence,  observa- 
tions are  difficult  and  have  hitherto  for  the  most  part  been  limited  to 
the  occasional  and  accidental  unearthing  of  specimens,  and  no  consec- 
utive series  of  observations  of  a  definite  brood  or  generation  have  been 
made.  The  discovery  of  and  the  proof  for  the  17-year  or  13-year 
period  for  the  development  of  the  Cicada  is,  therefore,  based  solely  on 
chronological  records,  but  so  noteworthy  are  the  recurrences  of  the 
important  broods  and  so  full  and  complete  are  the  records,  some  broods 
having  been  regularly  recorded  on  the  occasion  of  each  visit  for  nearly 
two  hundred  years,  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  doubting  the  accu- 
racy of  the  time  periods  from  such  records  alone ;  nevertheless,  this 
unusual  feature  in  the  life  of  the  Cicada  always  arouses  skepticism  in 
the  minds  of  persons  who  have  not  given  the  matter  study  nor  have 
examined  the  historical  records.  To  silence  such  objectors,  rather  than 
because  of  the  need  of  experimental  proof,  Professor  Kiley  was  for 
many  years  interested  in  demonstrating  by  actual  rearing  experiments 
the  period  of  underground  development  of  this  insect;  in  other  words, 
to  follow  a  particular  generation  through  its  subterranean  life  of  seven- 
teen or  thirteen  years,  as  the  case  might  be,  watching  its  development 
and  preserving  examples  of  the  different  stages. 

The  great  difficulty  of  conducting  to  a  successful  termination  experi- 
ments of  this  sort  will  be  appreciated  when  the  long  period  over  which 
the  experiments  must  necessarily  extend  is  remembered.  The  extreme 
delicacy  and  softness  of  the  larvae  themselves,  especially  in  the  first 
years  of  their  existence,  introduces  an  additional  difficulty,  as  the 
slightest  touch  or  pressure  injures  or  crushes  them  and  renders  them 
unrecognizable.  It  is  therefore  often  difficult  to  find  them,  even  when 
the  soil  is  very  thickly  tenanted. 

The  difficulty  of  carrying  out  breeding  experiments  with  the  Cicada 
under  any  but  natural  conditions  is  illustrated  by  various  efforts  in  this 
direction  undertaken  by  this  Division.  In  one  instance  a  number  of 
newly  hatched  Cicada  larva?  were  allowed  to  penetrate  the  soil  about  a 
potted  oak  tree  of  small  size.  ^None  of  these  larva?  survived  for  a 
single  year.  In  another  instance  the  larva?  were  allowed  to  penetrate 
the  soil  in  large  breeding  tanks,  each  containing  young  trees,  the  tanks 
being  planted  out  of  doors  in  the  soil.  These  were  left  undisturbed  for 
a  number  of  years,  and  although  the  conditions  were  seemingly  very 
favorable  for  a  successful  outcome,  when  an  examination  was  finally 
made,  no  traces  of  the  larva?  were  found. 


THE   UNDERGROUND  LIFE  OF  THE  CICADA. 


83 


The  earliest  systematic  attempts  to  follow  the  development  of  the 
Cicada  were  made  in  the  field  iu  Missouri  by  Professor  Riley,  and  sub 
sequently  continued  under  the  latter's  direction  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Barlow, 
an  agent  of  the  Division.  They  consisted  in  making  diggings  from 
year  to  year  under  trees  which  were  known  to  have  been  thickly 
stocked  with  eggs.  The  first  records  approaching  in  any  way  to  com- 
pleteness were  obtained  with  the  13-year  Brood  XVIII,  beginning  with 
its  appearance  in  1881.  Observations  on  this  brood  were  continued  by 
Mr.  Barlow  at  Cadet,  Mo.,  with  a  fair  degree  of  regularity  until  July, 
1891,  when  they  unfortunately  terminated. 

Daring  the  ten  years  over  which  these  observations  extended  the 
insect  had  developed  through  all  four  larval  stages  and  was  ready  to 
enter  the  first  pupal  stage.  The  first  molt  occurred  after  a  period  of 
from  one  year  to  eighteen  months,  the  second  molt  after  an  additional 
period  of  two  years,  the  third  molt  after  an  additional  period  of  three 
years,  and  the  fourth  molt  after  an  additional  period  of  three  or  four 
years,  leaving  in  this  13-year  brood  three  or  four  years  more  for  the 
pupal  stages. 

A  much  more  careful  series  of  experiments  were  instituted  in  connec- 
tion with  the  17-year  Brood  XXII,  beginning  with  its  last  appearance 
in  1885.  At  the  time  that  the  eggs  of  the  13-year  Brood  VII  were 
being  distributed  to  various  points  in  the  Xorth  in  order  to  determine 
the  effect  of  the  temperature  and  climate  (see  p.  16),  quantities  of 
egg-laden  twigs  of  the  17 -year  brood  noted,  collected  in  Virginia,  were 
distributed  under  certain  linden  and.  oak  trees  on  the  grounds  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Larva1  came 
from  these  twigs  in  some  numbers  and  went  into  the  soil  under  the 
trees,  but  not  in  such  abundance  as  could  have  been  wished  for  the 
successful  outcome  of  the  experiment.  This  brood  was  followed  in  its 
underground  life  from  1S85  to  1896,  at  which  time  the  specimens  had 
become  so  rare  that  extensive  digging  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  very 
few  individuals,  and  further  search  was  abandoned.  With  this  brood 
the  first  molt  occurred  after  one  year,  the  second  molt  two  years  later, 
the  third  molt  three  or  four  years  later,  and  the  fourth  molt  after  an 
additional  three  or  four  years,  thus  occupying  upward  of  ten  years 
with  the  four  larval  changes  and  bringing  the  insect  into  the  hirst 
larval  stage  with  some  six  or  seven  years  for  the  subsequent  larval 
and  pupal  life. 

A  much  more  promising  experiment,  because  of  more  abundant  mate- 
rial, was  instituted  on  the  Department  grounds  in  18S9  with  Brood  VIII 
of  the  17-year  race,  which  will  next  appear  in  1906.  The  egg-infested 
twigs  of  this  brood,  obtained  in  North  Carolina,  Long  Island,  Kentucky, 
and  Ohio,  were  distributed  in  enormous  numbers  under  oak  trees  in  tlie 
grounds  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  also  under  sycamore  and 
willow  trees.  The  eggs  in  most  instances  were  hatching  when  received 
and  were  placed  under  trees  in  the  very  best  condition  lor  the  larvae  to 


84 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


enter  the  soil.  Unfortunately  no  examination  was  made  for  a  number 
of  years,  but  in  1892  the  writer  made  excavations  under  a  large  num- 
ber of  trees  and  found  the  larva'  in  their  third  stage,  having  passed 
their  second  molt  three  years  from  the  egg.  They  were  present  in 
enormous  numbers,  so  that  a  single  spadeful  of  earth  would  often  turn 
up  a  half-dozen  or  more  larva*.  An  examination  made  in  1803  showed 
the  larva-  to  be  still  in  the  third  stage.  No  examination  was  made 
thereafter  until  April,  1897,  when  the  larva-  were  found  in  the  fourth 
stage,  some  of  the  specimens  having  recently  assumed  this  stage,  but 
most  of  them  probably  a  year  back,  judging  from  their  size.  The 
abundance  of  material  in  this  experiment  gives  greater  promise  of 
successfully  following  the  brood  to  the  adult  stage.1 

While  none  of  these  broods  have  been  followed  through  an  entire 
cyele.  the  records  are  sufficiently  complete  to  demonstrate  conclusively 
enough  the  long  underground  life,  if  it  required  any  proof  in  addition 
to  the  chronological  records  of  appearances.  A  valuable  outcome  of  the 
experiments  has  been  that  they  have  afforded  the  means  of  studying 
the  different  stages  of  growth  represented  in  the  underground  life  of 
the  Cicada,  which  had  never  before  been  investigated.  The  following 
history  of  the  larval  and  pupal  development  is  based  for  the  most  part 
on  information  and  material  secured  in  the  experiments  just  outlined. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  LARVAL  AND  PUPAL  STAGES. 

A  careful  study  of  the  material  collected  in  the  course  of  the  experi- 
ments described  in  the  last  section  demonstrates  the  interesting  fact 
that  this  species,  in  spite  of  its  very  long  period  of  growth,  presents 
the  same  number  of  adolescent  stages  as  is  found  in  insects  which  go 
through  their  entire  development  within  a  single  year  or  even  of  the 
more  rapidly  multiplying  species,  which  have  many  annual  generations. 
But  six  distinct  stages  are  found,  four  of  which  belong  to  the  larval 
condition  and  two  to  the  pupal.  In  other  words,  the  larval  and  pnpal 
changes  in  the  periodical  Cicada  are  normal  and  are  not  increased  by 
its  long  preparatory  existence. 

It  has  been  inferred  hitherto,  and  notably  by  Professor  Eiley.  that 
owing  to  the  continual  use  of  the  claws  in  burrowing,  this  species  found 
it  necessary  to  shed  its  skin  and  undergo  a  molting  once  or  twice 
a  year,  and  instead  of  the  normal  number  of  changes  or  molts  there 
were  probably  from  twenty  five  to  thirty.  An  examination  of  types  of 
the  different  larval  stages  which  Professor  Riley  had  provisionally 
separated  demonstrates  that  the  differences  on  which  these  supposed 
stages  were  based  are  either  individual  and  exceptional  or  due  to  the 
difference  of  age  within  the  same  stage,  and  that  as  far  as  structure 
and  size  of  the  hard  parts  of  the  larva  and  pupa  are  concerned  the 
normal  number  of  stages  only  are  represented  in  this  species. 


1  The  records  of  the  plantings  on  the  Department  grounds  of  the  eggs  of  Brood 
XXII  in  1885  and  Brood  VIII  in  1889  are  given  iu  Appendix  B. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  LARVAL  AND  PUPAL  STAGES. 


85 


For  the  separation  of  these  different  stages  of  growth  useful  char- 
acters are  found  in  the  size  and  structure  of  the  legs,  and  especially 
of  the  anterior  pair,  the  antennae,  and  in  the  development  of  the  wing 
sheaths.  It  is  the  rule  with  insects  that  with  each  molt  there  is  a 
decided  increase  in  the  size  of  the  head  and  hard  parts  generally,  and 
with  the  periodical  Cicada  especially  it  is  also  very  doubtful  if  it  ever 
molts  without  a  decided  change  of  the  sort  indicated.  Its  life  beneath 
the  ground  in  its  moist  cell  over  a  rootlet  is  a  very  quiet  one  and  free 
from  any  of  the  wearing  action  of  rain  or  the  drying  of  the  outer  air,  so 
that  the  need  of  a  molting  or  change  of  skin  would  apparently  be  much 
less  than  that  in  an  exposed  or  much  more  active  insect.  It  probably 
also  very  rarely  has  occasion  to  burrow  to  any  considerable  extent  and 
probably  often  remains  for  years  in  the  same  cell,  which  it  enlarges  from 
time  to  time  without  change  of  location.  For  these  reasons  the  writer 
is  inclined  to  believe  that  moltings  only  occur  w7hen  change  of  form 
becomes  necessary  by  the  increased  size  of  the  insect,  and  this  seems  to 
be  borne  out  by  definite  structural  peculiarities,  which  easily  permit  us 
to  recognize  the  different  stages  or  determine  the  age  of  any  larva  within 
a  year  or  two.  The  larva  of  a  particular  molt  or  stage  of  growth  will  vary 
considerably  in  size  of  the  body  and  the  softer  parts,  representing  per- 
haps a  difference  in  age  in  some  cases  of  one  or  two  years,  but  the  hard 
parts  will  present  a  very  uniform  size  and  character. 

The  peculiar  structure  of  the  enlarged  anterior  legs  furnishes  perhaps 
the  best  means  of  distinguishing  the  adolescent  stages  of  this  species 
from  other  Cicadas  and  the  modification  which  these  limbs  undergo 
with  the  different  molts  the  best  means  of  determining  the  age  of  the 
larva?.  The  peculiarities  of  the  anterior  legs  consist  in  the  enormous 
enlargement  of  the  femora  and  tibiae  and  their  development  into  struc- 
tures which  resemble  somewhat  the  cutting  mandibles  of  biting  insects 
or  recall  the  fossorial  forelegs  of  the  mole  cricket.  The  peculiar 
structure  of  these  legs  is  in  fact  especially  designed  for  digging,  tear- 
ing, and  transporting  earth  in  the  course  of  the  insect's  subterranean 
life.  As  already  indicated,  the  amount  of  burrowing  in  the  early  stages 
is  not  necessarily  very  great  in  any  one  year,  but  during  the  entire 
seventeen  years  conditions  may  occasionally  arise  which  will  demand 
a  considerable  activity  on  the  part  of  the  young  Cicada. 

The  details  of  the  structure  of  the  front  legs,  which  are  given  in  the 
technical  description  of  this  species,  are  quite  characteristic  and  diverge 
notably  from  the  similar  parts  of  other  species.  The  anterior  tarsi  of 
the  periodical  Cicada  exhibits  also  a  rather  peculiar  metamorphosis 
during  the  adolescent  life  of  the  species.  In  other  words,  during  the 
first  larval  stage  and  in  the  pupal  stage  it  is  similar  to  the  other  tarsi 
but  considerably  longer,  being  attached  to  the  inner  side  of  the  greatly 
enlarged  tibia  and  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  claw-like  tip  of 
the  latter.  The  fore  tarsi  are  of  service  to  the  young  larva  in  walking 
and  climbing  and  in  the  same  way  to  the  pupa  after  its  emergence  from 


86 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


the  soil,  facilitating  its  climbing  trees  or  other  objects;  in  other  words, 
covering  the  periods  between  the  hatching  and  entering  the  soil  and 
between  the  emergence  of  the  pupa  and  the  disclosure  of  the  imago. 
During  its  long  subterranean  life,  however,  these  long,  slender  tarsi, 


legs  and  antenna1,  but  particularly  the  variation  in  the  structure  of 
the  peculiar  comb  like  organ  which  is  found  on  the  apical  margin  of  the 
front  femora,  together  with  the  important  differences  in  the  hairy 
covering  of  the  body  and  legs. 

TECHNICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  STAGES. 

First  larval  stage. — The  newly  hatched  larva  (fig.  35,  a)  is  about  1.8 
mm.  long  from  tip  of  head  to  the  extremity  of  the  abdouien,  is  rather 
slender  and  of  a  nearly  uniform  thickness  throughout,  presenting,  how- 
ever, the  general  characteristics  of  the  later  larval  stages.  The  body  is 
clothed  with  numerous  scattering  long  hairs.  The  general  color  is 
creamy  white,  with  prominent,  deep  red,  almost  black,  eye  spots.  The 
antennae,  beak,  and  legs  are,  relatively  with  other  stages,  very  large  in 
comparison  with  the  size  of  the  body.  The  anterior  femora  are  developed 
in  general  as  in  the  later  stages,  though  lacking  the  comb-like  organ 
and  the  minute  second  subapical  tooth  which  appears  in  the  fourth  stage, 
and  the  first  tooth  from  apex  is  somewhat  more  pointed  than  in  later 
stages.    The  anterior  tibia  are  also  more  slender  and  the  mandible  like 


being  distinctly  in  the  way  in 
digging  in  the  earth  and  of  uo 
service,  become  rudimentary 
with  the  first  molt  and  nearly  dis- 
appear in  the  subsequent  larval 
stage.  They  reappear  in  the  first 
pupal  stage,  but  in  this  and  the 
subsequent  pupal  stage,  while 
the  insect  is  still  below  the  soil, 
they  are  folded  back  along  the 
tibiae,  so  as  to  be  practically  func- 
tionless  (see  fig.  40),  and  are  only 
unfolded  and  brought  into  serv- 
ice after  the  pupa  has  emerged 
from  the  ground. 


Fig.  36.— First  larval  stage :  a,  newly  hatched  larva ; 
b,  antenna  of  same;  c,  larva  eighteen  months  old; 
d,  enlarged  anterior  leg  of  same  (original). 


The  more  detailed  description 
of  the  different  stages  which  fol- 
lows will  facilitate  the  easy 
recognition  of  any  particular 
stage.  The  chief  points  to  be 
considered  in  determining  both 
the  age  of  the  larva  and  whether 
or  not  it  belongs  to  the  periodical 
species  are  the  measurements  of 
the  corresponding  parts  of  the 


TECHNICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE   DIFFERENT  STAGES.  87 


Fig. 37.— Second  larval  stage:  a,  anterior  leg. 
outer  face:  b.  same,  inner  face  (original). 


tip  more  sharply  pointed.  The  hairy  development  for  retaining;  the 
earth  excavated  in  burrowing,  so  prominent  in  the  later  stages,  is  but 
sparsely  represented.  The  anterior  tarsus  is  inserted  considerably 
within  the  tip  of  the  tibia  projecting-  beyond  the  latter,  and  is  armed 
at  its  extremity  with  two,  nearly  equal,  curved  claws,  similar  to 
those  on  the  middle  and  hind  tarsi.  The  basal  joint  of  the  two-jointed 
tarsi  in  all  the  feet  is  very  minute  and  with  difficulty  detected,  and  in 
fact  becomes  still  more  inconspicuous  in  later  larval  development.  The 
anteume  are  seven-jointed,  as  in  all  the  subsequent  larval  and  pupal 
stages  (one  of  the  characters  distinguishing  this  species  from  other 
allied  species,  particularly  C.  pruinosa,  which  has  an  additional  joint); 
but  the  presence  of  a  very  prominent  antennal  tubercle  gives  an 
appearance  of  eight  joints,  the  number  which  I  have  hitherto  assigned 
to  it.  The  first  true  joint  is  robust 
and  a  little  shorter  than  the  secoud, 
the  two  following  are  subequal  and 
shorter  than  the  first,  the  fifth  is 
shorter  than  the  fourth,  and  the  sixth 
and  seventh  are  subequal  and  shorter 
than  the  fifth,  the  last  tapering  reg- 
ularly from  the  apex,  which  is  armed 
with  curved  spines,  one  long  and  one 

short.  The  terminal  three  joints  form  something  of  a  club  tip.  During 
this  stage  the  larva  increases  in  length  to  more  than  3  mm.  aud  the 
abdomen  swells  and  becomes  more  robust.  The  length  of  the  hard 
chitinous  parts  remain,  however,  unchanged,  as  follows:  Anterior 
femora.  .27  mm.;  anterior  tibiae,  .30  mm.;  hind  tibiae,  .33  mm. 

This  stage  lasts  more  than  a  year,  the  first  molt  usually  occurring 
during  the  second  year  after  hatching.    (See  fig.  36.) 

Second  larval  stage. — The  average  length  of  the  larva  in  this  stage  is 
about  4  mm.  The  more  horny  parts  now  measure:  Anterior  femora. 
.50  mm.;  anterior  tibiae,  .55  mm.;  hind  tibiae,  .80  mm.  The  general 
appearance  is  unchanged  from  the  later  development  in  the  preceding- 
stage.  The  eye-spots  are  still  present,  though  reduced.  The  under 
surface  of  the  head  is  armed  with  some  rather  long  hairs,  and  a  very 
regular  row  of  minute  spines  occurs  on  the  anterior  face  of  the  hind 
and  the  middle  femora.  The  prominent  apical  tibial  spur  of  the  mid- 
dle and  the  hind  pair  appear  with  this  molt,  being  previously  repre- 
sented, if  at  all,  by  a  simple  spine.  The  third  joint  of  the  now  distinctly 
elbowed  anteume  is  as  long  as  the  secoud,  and  the  three  terminal 
joints  are  rather  more  compressed  into  a  club-like  tip  than  in  the  first 
stage.  The  chief  characteristics  of  this  secoud  stage,  however,  are  in 
the  auterior  legs  (fig.  37).  The  femora  now  possesses  a  rudimentary 
comb  of  three  teeth,  the  upper  one  being  very  broad  and  projecting 
beyond  the  three  succeeding  sharp  ones,  of  which  the  lower  is  the 
larger.    The  central  tooth  of  the  femora,  which  was  rather  minute,  or 


88 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Fig.  38.— Third  larval  stage :  «,  anterior  leg,  outer  face 
iuuer  lace  (original). 


more  properly  u  mere  spine  in  the  first  stage,  is  now  very  mucli  larger 
and  broadened  at  the  base  into  a  prominent  triangular  projection. 
The  tarsus  is  reduced  to  a  horny  rudiment  about  three  times  as  long- 
as  wide,  and  is  closely  applied  to  the  inner  surface  of  the  tibial  '.'jaw" 
which  extends  twice  the  length  of  the  tarsus  beyond  the  latter. 
This  stage,  as  already  stated,  is  assumed  during  the  first  two  or 

three  months  of  the 
second  year  of  the  in- 
sect's existence  and 
lasts  nearly  two  years. 

Third  larval  stage. — 
Length,  0  to  8  mm.; 
anterior  femora,  1.20 
mm.;  anterior  tibiae, 
1.35  mm.;  hind  tibiae, 
1.85  mm.  Eye-spots 

still  more  reduced;  numerous  parallel  rows  of  short  hairs  on  the  head 
are  noticeable;  hairy  armature  of  legs  more  distinctly  outlined;  a  row 
of  small  spines  on  either  side  of  middle  and  hind  tibia1,  while  the  rows 
of  bristles  on  the  inner  margins  of  the  anterior  femora  and  tibiae  for  hold- 
ing the  excavated  earth 
are  well  developed.  An- 
terior tarsus  reduced  to 
mere  tapering  spur  about 
two  and  one-half  times  as 
long  as  wide  at  base.  The 
femoral  comb  has  one  ad- 
ditional tooth,  making- 
four  in  all  counting  the 
blunt  upper  one  (fig.  38). 
The  antennal  joints  de- 
crease in  length  from  the 
basal  to  the  terminal,  the 
basal  two  and  the  termi- 
nal two  being,  however, 
of  nearly  equal  length, 
respectively.  The  wing- 
cases  are  foreshadowed 
by  minute  pads.  Sexual 
differences  very  faintly 
discernible, 

The  larva  is  in  this  stage  at  the  completion  of  the  fourth  year  of  its 
existence. 

Fourth  larval  stage. — Length,  10  to  15mm. ;  anterior  femora,  2.40  mm. ; 
anterior  tibia1,  2.70  mm.;  hind  tibia1.  4  mm.  Eye-spots  reduced  to  from 
three  to  six  minute  black  points,  rows  of  hairs  on  head  easily  dis- 
cernible and  prominent;  spines  on  femora  and  tibiae  of  all  legs,  and 


Fig.  39. — Fourth  larval  stage:  a,  full  grown  larva,  much  en- 
larged; b,  anterior  leg,  outer  face;  c,  same,  inner  face; 
</,  outline  of  femoral  comb  (original). 


TECHNICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  STAGES.  89 


particularly  the  anterior  pair,  more  numerous  and  longer  and  stouter 
than  in  the  preceding  stages.  The  anterior  tibia  has  a  small  tooth 
within  the  larger  blunt  subapical  one.  The  femoral  comb  has  again  an 
additional  tooth,  making  five  in  all.  Antenna;  as  in  the  preceding 
stage.  Rudimentary  wing  cases  somewhat  more  prominent  than  in  the 
last  stage,  but  still  inconspicuous.    (See  fig.  39.) 

The  larva  is  in  this  stage  at  the  completion  of  the  eighth  year  of  its 
existence,  and  the  stage  probably  lasts  three  or  four  years. 

First  pupal  stage.— Length  in  the  early  condition  of  this  stage  about 
17  mm.;  anterior  femora,  3.30  mm.;  anterior  tibiae,  3.G0  mm.;  hind 
tibiae,  5.80  mm.;  width  of  head,  0  mm.  Eye-spots  entirely  wanting; 
eye  prominences  well  developed,  as  in  later  pupal  stages.  Wing  cases 
extend  to  the  tip  of  the  third 
segment.  Third  antennal  joint 
one-third  longer  than  second, 
fourth  as  long  as  second,  others 
decreasing  in  length.  The  an- 
terior tarsi  reappear  perfectly 
developed,  and  are  nearly  as 
long  as  the  tibiie  and  are  folded 
along  the  inner  face  of  the  lat- 
ter; the  first  joint  is  very  mi- 
nute, and  the  second  or  last 
very  long  —  longer  than  the 
middle  or  posterior  pairs — and 
armed  with  two  curved  claws 
at  the  tip  of  which  one  is  rather 
longer  than  the  other.  Femo- 
ral comb  with  an  additional 
tooth,  a  very  minute  one  being 
distinctly  separated  from  the 
large  blunt  upper  tooth.  The 
anterior  tibiae  have  within  the 
large  blunt   subapical  tooth, 

which  has  occurred  all  along  hitherto,  two  minute  saw-teeth  instead  of 
the  one  present  in  the  preceding  stage  (fig.  40).  The  hairs  of  the  legs 
and  body  are  arranged  as  hitherto,  but  are  rather  more  numerous  and 
longer,  and  this  is  particularly  true  of  the  anterior  limbs.  The  sexual 
characters  which  have  been  foreshadowed  in  the  two  later  larval  stages 
are  now  distinctly  defined. 

Second  pupal  stage. — This  stage  does  not  present  any  ditferences 
from  the  last  except  in  the  greater  size  of  the  specimens,  which  is 
noticeable  in  the  relative  dimensions  of  the  parts  hitherto  measured  for 
comparison.  The  length  of  the  adult  pupa  varies  from  27  mm.  in  the 
case  of  the  males  to  about  35  mm.  in  the  case  of  the  larger  females. 
The  adult  pupa  of  the  male  presents  the  following  length  of  the  parts 
referred  to:  Anterior  femora.  3.80  mm.;  anterior  tibia',  4.30  mm.;  hind 


Fig.  40.— First  pupal  stage :  a,  anterior  leg,  inner  face, 
showing  tarsus  bent  back  against  the  tibia  ;  b.  same, 
outer  face  (original). 


90 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


tibiae,  (5.70  mm.;  width  of  head,  0.70  mm.  In  the  case  of  the  female: 
Anterior  femora,  4.20  mm.;  anterior  tibiae,  5  mm. ;  hind  tibia',  7.50  mm.; 
width  of  head,  7.r>0  mm.  The  anterior  tarsus  in  all  unearthed  speci- 
mens is  folded  closely  back  against  the  face  of  the  tibia,  but  in  all 
serial  specimens  is  unfolded  and  projects  forward  to  be  of  service  in 
climbing. 

THE  HABITS  OF  THE  LARVA  AND  PUPA. 

During  its  long  life  beneath  the  soil,  in  its  small  moist  oval  cell, 
which  at  first  is  not  larger  than  a  "birdshot,"  but  is  gradually  enlarged 
to  accommodate  the  slowly-increasing  size  of  the  inmate,  little  oppor- 
tunity is  afforded  for  much  variation  in  mode  of  existence  and  habits. 
The  interesting  features  to  be  considered  are  the  feeding  and  burrow 
ing  habits,  which  together  comprise  the  principal  activities  of  its  sub- 
terranean existence. 

THE  FOOD  OF  THE  LARVA  AND  PUPA. 

The  food  taken  by  this  insect  beneath  the  soil  is  necessarily  fluid,  as 
is  also  the  case  with  the  perfect  insect,  as  well  as  with  all  other  insects 
of  the  order  Hemiptera.  That  the  Cicada  should  obtain  its  nourish- 
ment in  a  manner  different  from  the  other  members  of  its  order  would 
not  be  anticipated,  but,  nevertheless,  a  good  deal  of  difference  of 
opinion  has  been  expressed  as  to  the  nature  of  the  food  of  this  insect 
in  its  subterranean  life,  as  also  its  method  of  feeding.  Both  Professor 
Potter  and  Dr.  Smith  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  insect  in  its  under- 
ground life  obtained  its  nourishment  from  the  surface  moisture  of  the 
roots  of  plants  through  capillary  hairs  at  the  tip  of  the  proboscis — a 
curious  misapprehension, as  the  hairs  mentioned  arise  from  the  sheaths, 
and  have  no  connection  with  the  true  piercing  and  sucking  seta^.  Pro- 
fessor Potter  expresses  himself  on  this  subject  as  follows: 

In  all  places  they  are  found  attached  to  the  tender  fibrils  of  plants.  When  they 
are  disturbed  or  driven  from  them  they  seek  for  others  the  moment  they  are  at 
liberty.  This  is  their  only  aliment,  not  the  substance  of  the  roots  of  the  plants, 
which  they  can  wot  divide  and  comminuate  without  teeth  or  jaws  to  use  them,  but 
the  mere  aerial  exhalation  from  their  surface.  This  well-established  fact  would 
seem  to  account  for  the  slowness  of  their  growth,  and  furnishes  a  reason  for  so  long 
a  subterraneous  residence. 

This  absurd  view  of  the  method  of  nourishment  of  the  larva  and 
pupa  is  on  a  par  also  with  the  belief  of  the  same  authors,  reviving  the 
statement  of  Aristotle,  that  the  adult  insect  subsists  on  "the  dewy 
exhalation  of  vegetable  barks,"  which  was  supposed  to  be  swept  up  by 
a  brush  of  hairs  on  the  tip  of  the  proboscis.  Dr.  Smith  claims  a  basis 
for  this  theory  of  the  feeding  habits  in  personal  observation,  and  it  has 
been  supposed  by  others  to  be  supported  by  the  well-known  fact  that 
the  Cicada  will  occasionally  issue  from  the  ground  that  has  been  prac- 
tically cleared  of  timber  and  under  cultivation  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  that  other  species  are  known  to  issue  from  the  prairies.  These 


THE  HABITS  OF  THE  LARVA  AND  PUPA. 


91 


facts  lose  much  of  tbeir  significance  when  it  is  remembered  that  any 
vegetation,  even  annual,  as  of  farm  crops,  would  supply  ample  root 
growth  for  the  Cicada  larva  during  the  growing  period  of  summer,  and  in 
the  colder  months  they  undoubtedly  lie  dormant  in  their  earthen  cells. 

Perhaps  the  first  writer  to  point  out  and  demonstrate  the  true 
method  of  feeding  of  the  larva  and  pupa  of  this  insect  in  their  under- 
ground existence  was  Miss  Morris,  of  Germantown,  Pa.  That  the 
Cicada  larva?  and  pupae  pierce  small  roots  with  their  sucking  beaks 
and  feed  on  the  juices  of  the  plant,  as  do  other  plant-feeding  Bemip- 
terous  insects,  as  their  normal,  if  not  their  sole  method  of  subsisting 
was  fully  proven  by  her  investigation,  and  has  been  confirmed  repeat- 
edly in  the  diggings  made  by  the  writer,  and  there  can  no  longer  be 
any  possibility  of  doubt  in  the  matter.  In  practically  every  case,  in 
the  writer's  experience,  where  the  cell  in  which  the  larva  rested  was 
taken  out  in  condition  for  examination  a  small  root,  one  sixteenth  to 
three-sixteenth  inch  in  diameter,  was  found  to  border  usually  the 
upper  end  of  the  cell,  and  in  several  instances  larvae  were  found  with 
their  beaks  so  securely  embedded  in  the  root  that  they  were  not  easily 
loosened.  In  other  instances  the  roots  showed  unmistakable  signs  of 
having  been  punctured  by  the  slight  swelling  and  reddish  discolora- 
tion beneath  the  bark. 

The  root-feeding  habit  can  best  be  witnessed  in  light,  rich  soils,  and 
in  the  plantings  of  the  brood  of  1889  under  oak  trees  on  the  Depart- 
ment grounds,  the  soil  beneath  these  trees  was  so  thickly  inhabited 
that  between  the  depths  of  6  and  12  inches  every  spadeful  of  earth 
would  throw  out  numbers  of  the  larvae,  and  a  most  excellent  opportu- 
nity was  afforded  for  the  study  of  their  habits.  In  hard,  packed  soils, 
perhaps  scantily  supplied  with  roots,  the  difficulty  of  getting  out  the 
cells  in  perfect  condition  is  such  that  one  might  easily  be  led  into 
error,  and  the  comparative  rarity  of  the  larvae  in  such  soils  adds  far- 
ther to  the  difficulty  of  determining  their  feeding  habits. 

It  is  for  this  reason,  I  have  no  doubt,  that  the  opinion  has  obtained 
in  some  quarters  that  the  larvaa  subsist  not  on  the  roots  of  plants,  but 
on  the  nourishment  obtained  from  the  surface  moisture  of  the  roots,  or 
the  general  moisture  of  the  earth,  which  might  be  supposed  to  con- 
tain more  or  less  nutrient  material  arising  from  the  decomposition  of 
the  vegetable  matter.  That  the  moisture  of  the  surrounding  soil  may, 
and  doubtless  does,  supply  the  very  delicate,  thin-skinned  larva1  and 
pupae  with  a  certain  amount  of  liquid  by  absorption  through  the#skin 
may  be  admitted,  and  in  fact  when  the  larva'  are  taken  from  their  nat- 
ural surroundings  and  exposed  to  the  air  they  very  rapidly  dry  and 
shrivel.  Larvae  are  doubtless  occasionally  found  in  cells  away  from 
roots,  and  this  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  of  their  being  at  that 
time  either  undergoing  one  of  their  long  resting  or  hibernating  periods, 
which  may  be  of  frequent  occurrence  in  such  an  extremely  long  lived 
species,  or  they  may  be  burrowing  in  search  of  roots  on  which  to  subsist. 


92 


THE   PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


THE  LOCATION  IN  THE  SOIL. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  depth 
beneath  the  soil  readied  by  the  larvae  and  pupae.  In  all  of  the  exten- 
sive excavations  which  have  been  made  on  the  Department  grounds  in 
following  the  results  of  the  experimental  plantings  specimens  have 
rarely  been  found  at  a  greater  depth  than  2  feet  below  the  surface  and 
usually  between  G  and  12  inches,  especially  in  the  first  years  of  the  life 
of  the  insect.  This  experience  is  corroborated  by  the  examinations 
made  by  Professor  Riley  in  Missouri,  and  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  inter- 
esting manuscript  notes  left  on  this  subject  by  Dr.  Smith,  which  are 
here  reproduced : 

The  depth  in  the  earth  to  which  it  descends  depends  npon  that  of  the  vegetable 
soil,  and  its  location  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  soil,  except  perhaps  in  some  of  the  deep 
soils  of  the  West  and  the  alluvial  soils,  where  the  depth  of  its  descent  is  probably 
only  sufficient  to  protect  it  against  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  This  is  generally 
from  12  to  18  inches  and  sometimes  2  feet.  It  never  changes  its  locality  from  the 
time  it  enters  the  earth  till  it  emerges.  The  cells  in  which  they  shut  themselves  up 
are,  inside,  well  finished  and  smooth,  of  a  sufficient  size  to  accommodate  them;  but 
outside  they  are  mere  lumps  of  clay,  and  afford  by  trheir  appearance  no  clew  to  their 
internal  character.  It  is  this  fact  that  has  caused  all  the  doubt  and  mystery  about 
their  place  of  residence  and  bnbits  during  their  long  continuauce  m  the  earth.  A 
gentleman  in  the  winter  of  1850-51  was  excavating  on  the  side  of  a  low  hill  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  wall  on  West  Baltimore  street.  The  excavation  was  about  150 
yards  long  and  6  to  18  feet  deep  to  the  level  of  the  paved  street.  This  hill  had  been 
covered  in  former  years  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  had  been  one  of  the  fields  of 
observation  in  1834.  I  watched  this  excavation  daily  and  found  the  cells  of  the 
locusts  thrown  down  in  the  greatest  abundance.  The  lumps  of  earth  containing 
the  cells  would  roll  down  the  heaps  of  earth  just  as  others  did,  affording  not  the 
slightest  indication  of  their  internal  contents.  But  as  the  pick  or  the  spade  of  the 
workmen  struck  a  cell  in  its  place  in  the  banks  it  readily  broke  open  and  the  larva 
was  exposed.  When  the  excavation  was  completed  the  observer  standing  in  the 
street  had  a  fine  view  of  the  broken  cells  in  the  bank.  From  one  end  of  the  bank 
to  the  other  the  cells  were  plainly  visible,  appearing  like  small  augur  holes,  and  all  in 
a  regular  stratum  of  earth  abont  18  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  from  2  to  4 
or  5  inches  apart,  and  none  more  than  1  or  2  inches  higher  or  lower  than  the  others. 
The  internal  size  of  the  cells  was  from  1^  to  2  inches  long  and  about  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  wide,  forming  an  oblong  cavity  very  smooth  in  its  walls.  The  particles  of 
earth  of  which  the  cells  were  composed  had  evidently  been  agglutinated  together 
by  some  viscid  fluid  secreted  by  the  insect.  This  is  their  habitation  during  the  whole 
seventeen  years,  or  until  they  prepare  for  their  ascent. 

In  the  face  of  the  testimony  given  above  there  are  records  also  by 
apparently  trustworthy  observers  which  seem  to  indicate  that  the  larvae 
are  capable  of  going  to  much  greater  depths.  An  instance  of  this  sort 
is  reported  by  Mr.  Sadorus,  of  Port  Byron,  111.,  who  built  a  house  in 
1853  and  found  that  they  came  up  in  his  cellar  in  1854.  Others  have 
reported  finding  them  at  a  depth  of  10  feet  or  even  more  below  the  sur- 
face. A  rather  remarkable  instance  is  recorded  by  Mr.  Henry  G. 
Suavely,  of  Lebanon,  Pa.,  in  which  the  Cicada  pupae  are  reported  to 
have  worked  their  way  through  a  hard  mass  of  cinders  about  5  feet  in 
thickness,  which  had  been  firmly  compacted. 


THE  METHOD  OF  BURROWING. 


93 


It  is  difficult  to  say  bow  many  of  these  reported  occurrences  at 
unusual  deptbs  are  due  to  an  unobserved  tumbling  of  specimens  from 
higher  levels,  but  where  the  insects  have  been  observed  to  issue  through 
the  bottom  of  cellars  or  similar  situations  the  information  would  seem 
to  be  reliable.  The  fact  remains,  however,  that  all  of  the  extensive 
diggings  in  the  investigation  of  the  early  history  of  this  insect  here  in 
Washington  and  elsewhere  have  confirmed  the  statements  of  Dr.  Smith ; 
in  other  words,  the  insects  have  always  been  found,  as  stated,  within  2 
feet  of  the  surface  and  in  greatest  numbers  between  the  depths  of  8 
and  18  inches. 

A  curious  feature  in  connection  with  the  underground  life  of  this 
insect  is  their  apparent  ability  to  survive  without  injury  in  soil  which 
may  have  been  flooded  for  a  considerable  period.  Dr.  Smith  records  a 
case  of  this  kind  where  a  gentleman  in  Louisiana  iu  January,  1818, 
built  a  mi  lid  am,  thus  overflowing  some  land.  In  March  of  the  follow- 
ing year  the  water  was  drawn  off  and  "in  removing  a  hard  bed  of  pipe 
clay  that  had  been  covered  with  water  all  of  this  time  some  6  feet  deep 
the  locusts  were  found  in  a  fine,  healthy  state,  ready  to  make  their 
appearance  above  ground,  that  being  the  year  of  their  regular  appear- 
ance/' Another  case  almost  exactly  similar  is  reported  by  Mr.  Barlow. 
In  this  instance  the  building  of  a  dam  resulted  in  the  submerging  of 
the  ground  about  an  oak  tree  during  several  months  of  every  summer, 
ultimatelyresulting  in  the  death  of  the  tree.  This  went  on  for  several 
years,  until  the  dam  was  washed  away  by  a  freshet,  when  digging 
beneath  the  tree  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Cicada  larva?  in  apparently 
healthy  condition  from  12  to  18  inches  below  the  natural  surface  of 
the  ground.  In  both  of  these  instances  the  ground  may  have  been 
nearly  impervious,  so  that  the  water  did  not  reach  the  insects  nor 
entirely  kill  all  of  the  root  growth  in  the  submerged  soil. 

THE  METHOD  OF  BURROWING. 

The  actions  of  the  Cicada  beneath  the  soil  are  not  readily  investi- 
gated, the  newly  hatched  and  more  active  individuals  disappearing 
rather  rapidly  and  seeming  to  be  quite  at  home  in  the  earth,  as  their 
natural  element.  The  method  of  burrowing  of  the  larger  and  partly 
grown  specimens,  as  witnessed  in  captivity  under  fajrly  natural  condi- 
tions, is,  as  has  been  described  in  the  manuscript  notes  of  the  Division, 
as  follows:  The  larva  scratches  away  the  walls  of  its  cell  with  the 
femoral  aud  tibial  claws,  grasping  and  tearing  the  earth  and  small 
stones  just  as  one  would  do  with  the  hands,  bracing  itself  against  the 
sides  of  its  cell  mainly  by  its  hind  and  middle  legs,  the  former  in  their 
natural  position  and  the  latter  stretched  out  over  the  back.  If  it  is 
rising,  so  that  the  earth  removed  naturally  falls  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
burrow,  it  simply  presses  the  detached  portions  on  all  sides,  and  espe- 
cially on  the  end  of  the  cavity,  by  means  of  its  abdomen  and  middle  and 
hind  legs.    If  the  direction  of  the  larva,  however,  is  downward,  the 


94 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


loose  soil  has  to  be  gathered  and  pressed  against  the  upper  end  of  the 
cavity,  which  is  accomplished  by  making*  the  soil  into  little  pellets  by 
means  particularly  of  the  front  femora  and  placing  these  pellets  on  the 
clypeal  part  of  the  head,  carrying  them  upward  and  pressing  them 
firmly  against  the  top  of  the  cavity.  The  stiff  hairs  that  cover  the 
head  and  border  the  inner  sides  of  the  fore  tibiae  and  femora  assist  very 
materially  in  securing  the  earth  while  it  is  being  transported. 

From  time  to  time  the  burrowing  insect  rests  and  cleans  the  adhering 
earth  from  its  forearms  very  much  as  a  cat  washes  its  face  with  its 
paws.  The  large,  strong  forelegs  are  moved  over  the  roughened  front 
of  the  head,  the  stiff  hairs  springing  from  the  latter  acting  like  a  comb 
or  brush  to  free  the  spines  of  adhering  earth. 

DAMAGE  OCCASIONED  BY  LARVAE  AND  PUPiE. 

During  its  underground  life  the  Cicada  has  been  charged  with  dam- 
aging, and  even  killing,  fruit  trees.  At  first  thought  this  is  not  an 
unnatural  inference  when  one  remembers  the  immense  numbers  in 
which  the  insect  often  occurs.  The  most  specific  charge  brought 
against  them  in  this  particular  is  the  account  published  by  Miss  Mor- 
ris in  184G.1  Miss  Morris  having  suspected  for  a  number  of  years  that 
the  failure  of  certain  fruit  trees  over  twenty  years  old  was  mainly  due  to 
the  ravages  of  the  larvae  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  had  an  examination 
made  of  one  of  them,  a  pear  tree  that  had  been  declining  for  a  number 
of  years  without  apparent  cause.    She  says: 

Agreeably  to  my  expectation  I  found  the  larva?  of  the  Cicada  in  countless  numbers 
clinging  to  the  roots  of  the  tree,  with  their  suckers  piercing  the  bark  and  so  deeply 
and  firmly  placed  that  they  remained  hanging  for  a  half  an  hour  after  being  removed 
from  the  earth.  From  a  root  a  yard  long  and  about  an  inch  in  diameter  I  gathered 
23  larvae ;  they  were  of  various  sizes,  from  a  quarter  of  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  length. 
They  were  on  all  the  roots  that  grew  deeper  than  6  inches  below  the  surface. 
The  roots  were  unhealthy,  and  bore  the  appearance  of  external  injury  from  small 
punctures.  On  removing  the  outer  coat  of  bark  this  appearance  increased,  leaving 
no  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  the  disease. 

In  this  particular  instance  there  is  some  reason  for  believing  that 
the  damage  to  the  tree  had  been  caused  by  the  larva?.  The  fact 
remains,  however,  that  no  damage  has  ever  been  detected  in  forests, 
where  the  Cicada  emerges  in  countless  myriads,  the  trees  presenting 
as  vigorous  and  robust  a  condition  as  in  other  districts  where  no  Cicadas 
occur,  and  this  is  true  also  of  old  original  trees  and  planted  trees  in 
parks  or  private  grounds.  In  orchards  also  where  the  insects  have 
been  so  abundant  that  the  ground  was  almost  honeycombed  after  their 
emergence  the  trees  themselves  exhibited  a  good  state  of  vigor  and  an 
inspection  of  the  roots  revealed  no  material  injury  save  some  small 
swellings  or  callosities  with  slight  discoloration  which  might  have 
resulted  from  the  punctures. 

The  underground  development  of  the  Cicada  is  so  very  slow,  thirteen 

JProc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Phila.,  December,  1846  (1848),  vol.  3,  p.  133. 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 


95 


or  seventeen  years  being  occupied  in  attaining  a  size  which  with  other 
species  is  achieved  in  as  many  days  or  weeks,  that  the  very  slow 
absorption  of  nutriment  from  the  roots  can  scarcely  have  any  effect 
on  them,  and  the  only  injury,  and  this  is  very  slight,  is  probably  due  to 
a  poisoning  of  the  roots,  perhaps  by  the  beak  of  the  insect,  as  indicated 
by  tbe  slight  discoloration  of  the  cambium  at  the  point  of  puncture. 
Callosities  and  other  irregularities  are,  however,  rare,  and  have  never 
been  observed  by  the  writer.  Very  often  also  there  are,  undoubtedly, 
long  periods  of  rest  or  dormancy,  during  which  no  food  at  all  is  taken. 

Referring  to  the  injury  noted  by  Miss  Morris,  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  fruit  trees  have  a  natural  term  of  life,  and  after  twenty  years 
they  are  very  apt  to  show  weakness  and  loss  of  vigor,  and  cease  to  be 
profitable.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  that  this  is  the  true  explanation 
of  the  condition  of  the  trees  noted  by  her  rather  than  that  it  was  due 
to  the  presence  of  the  larvae  of  the  Cicada. 

THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CICADA. 

The  fact  that  the  periodical  Cicada  appears  above  ground  so  rarely 
prevents  its  having  any  peculiar  or  specific  parasitic  or  natural  enemies. 
We  can  not  conceive  of  any  parasite  breeding  solely  either  in  the  adult 
Cicada  or  in  its  eggs  which  could  persist  during  the  long  period  of 
years  when  no  host  was  available.  Equally  remarkable  also  would  be 
a  parasitic  insect  the  term  of  whose  life  should  be  so  exteuded  that  it 
could  live  in  the  body  of  the  Cicada  larva  during  the  years  of  its  slow 
growth  beneath  the  soil.  Of  the  larger  enemies  of  the  Cicada,  such  as 
birds  and  mammals,  the  habit  of  feeding  on  the  Cicada  is  necessarily 
acquired  anew  with  each  recurrence  of  a  Cicada  year. 

All  these  facts  have  a  very  potent  influence  in  protecting  the  peri- 
odical Cicada,  which  as  we  have  already  pointed  out,  is  particularly 
helpless,  and  were  it  not  for  these  natural  protective  influences  the  very 
existence  of  the  species  would  probably  be  early  brought  to  an  end. 

During  their  subterranean  existence,  the  larva)  and  pupae,  when  near 
the  surface,  are  doubtless  subject  to  the  attacks  of  various  predaceous 
Coleopterous  larvae,  and  many  of  them  are  unquestionably  destroyed 
by  this  agency.  Upon  leaving  the  ground  to  transform  they  present 
an  attractive  food  for  many  insectivorous  animals,  and  the  pupa1  and 
transforming  adults  are  vigorously  attacked  by  many  different  reptiles, 
quadrupeds,  and  birds,  and  by  cannibal  insects,  such  as  ground  beetles, 
dragon  flies,  soldier  bugs,  etc.,  while  such  domestic  animals  as  hogs  and 
poultry  of  all  kinds  greedily  feast  upon  them.  The  preference  shown 
by  hogs  running  wild  in  woods  for  the  Cicada  is  especially  marked, 
and  we  have  elsewhere  commented  on  the  fact  of  their  rooting  up  the 
ground  to  get  the  pup*  in  April  and  May,  before  the  Cicadas  have 
appeared  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  for  transformation.  The  birds 
are,  perhaps,  the  most  efficient  destroyers  of  the  Cicada,  and,  as  we 
have  already  noted,  the  English  sparrow  is  particularly  destructive  to 
20110— No.  14  7 


96 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


them  in  and  near  cities,  and,  indeed,  bids  fair  to  completely  exterminate 
them  in  such  locations. 

In  the  perfect  state  they  are  attacked  by  at  least  one  parasitic  fly 
(Tachina  sp.)  which  liv  es  internally  in  the  body  of  its  host.  One  of  the 
large  digger  wasps,  to  be  later  described,  also  preys  upon  the  adult, 
provisioning  its  larval  galleries  with  the  stung  and  dormant  Cicadas. 
The  Cicada  is  also  attacked  by  a  fungous  disease,  sometimes  so  abun- 
dantly as  to  ultimately  destroy  most  of  the  male  and  many  of  the 
female  insects. 

In  the  egg  state,  the  Cicada  has  many  very  effective  enemies,  com- 
prising mainly  parasitic  flies  belonging  to  the  orders  Hyinenoptera 
and  Diptera,  and  also  various  predaceous  insects  belonging  to  the 
orders  Hemiptera,  Neuroptera,  and  Coleoptera.  A  number  of  well- 
kuown  predaceous  mites,  and  other  mites  whose  habits  seem  to  be 
predaceous  in  this  particular,  are  also  found  associated  with  the  eggs 
of  the  Cicada  under  such  circumstances  as  to  leave  little  doubt  of  their 
feeding  upon  the  eggs.  All  of  these  insect  and  mite  enemies  of  the 
Cicada  are  more  or  less  general  feeders,  and  are  simply  attracted  in 
numbers  to  the  Cicada  and  especially  to  the  eggs  in  the  case  of  the 
egg  parasites  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  the  food  presented.  In 
other  words,  we  are  furnished  with  a  striking  example  merely  of  ready 
adaptation  to  new  and  favorable  conditions.  This  is  true  also  of  the 
fungous  disease  of  the  Cicada,  which  is  probably  normally  present  in 
other  species  of  Cicada  which  are  annual  in  appearance. 

INSECT  PARASITES. 

As  already  noted,  among  the  more  effective  natural  enemies  of  the 
Cicada  are  the  other  insects  which  prey  upon  the  eggs  in  the  twigs,  on 
the  newly-hatched  larvas,  and  also,  but  to  a  much  less  extent,  on  the 
adults.  The  more  common  and  characteristic  of  the  insect  enemies  of 
the  different  stages  of  the  periodical  Cicada  are  given  below : 

DIPTEROUS  ENEMIES. 

Some  four  species  of  two- winged  flies  have  been  found  to  subsist  as 
larvae  on  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada,  but  none  of  these  have  been  reared  to 
the  adult  stage  and,  therefore,  their  specific  identification  is  impos- 
sible. 

One  of  these  bears  some  resemblance  to  an  Asilid,  or,  perhaps,  more 
remotely,  to  a  Bombylid  larva,  and  was  found  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Allis  at 
Adrian,  Mich.,  feeding  on  the  contents  of  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada, 
piercing  the  thin  shells  and  extracting  the  juices.  These  larvae  are 
very  minute,  not  much  exceeding  a  millimeter  in  length. 

The  most  interesting  of  the  dipterous  egg  parasites  is  a  Cecidomyid, 
which  was  found  in  February,  1886,  with  eggs  deposited  in  sumac  the 
previous  season.  When  examined  all  the  eggs  had  hatched  except  in 
some  instances  where  they  had  been  sealed  up  by  the  rapid  growth  of 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 


97 


the  wood  so  as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  larvae.  One  of  the  eggs 
thus  inclosed  was  of  an  orange  color,  in  distinction  from  the  normal 
yellowish-white,  and  from  it,  on  March  2,  an  orange- colored  Cecidomyid 
larva  emerged.  Other  larvae,  apparently  of  the  same  species,  were 
secured  in  May  from  eggs  in  alder  twigs.  From  none  of  these,  how- 
ever, were  adult  flies  obtained.  The  larvae  ranged  in  length  from  1  to 
1.5  millimeters.  Their  general  character- 
istics are  indicated  in  the  accompanying 
illustration  (tig.  41). 

The  fly  parasite  of  the  adult  Cicada  seems 
to  belong  to  the  family  Tachinidae,  which  in- 
cludes a  number  of  species  similarly  attack- 
ing grasshoppers  as  well  as  many  other  in- 
sects. The  larvae  of  these  flies  which  have 
not  been  carried  to  the  adult  stage,  some- 
times to  the  number  of  half-dozen  or  more, 
will  occur  together  in  the  body  of  a  Cicada, 
which  they  have  almost  or  quite  completely 
eaten  out. 


IIEMIPTEROUS  ENEMIES. 


Fig.  41. — Cecidomyid  egg  parasite 
of  the  Cicada— larva  much  en- 
larged, with  anatomical  details  at 
side  (original). 


A  few  predaceous  Hemiptera  were  found 
associated  with  Cicada  eggs  under  such 
circumstances  as  to  leave  little  doubt  but  that  they  were  subsisting  on 
them.  Among  these  were  two  species  of  Thrips,  which  were  found 
both  in  the  larval  and  adult  stages  in  several  instances  about  the  eggs 
on  which  they  had  been  feeding.    The  material  that  has  been  preserved 

of  these  Thrips  is  not  now  in 
d         condition  to  be  worked  up. 
Both  species  are  probably  un- 
ci escribed. 

HYM  EXOPTEROUS  ENEMIES. 

The  hymenopterous  enemies 
of  the  Cicada  comprise  a  num- 
ber of  egg  parasites,  which 
are  the  more  important  agen- 
cies in  limiting  the  numbers  of 
the  insect,  and  the  large  dig- 
ger wasp  already  mentioned. 
The  fact  that  the  eggs  and 
the  newly  hatched  larvae  are 
much  sought  after  by  various  species  of  ants  was  early  commented  upon, 
Dr.  Potter  stating  that  they  are  constantly  infested  by  legions  of  ants 
both  before  and  after  they  are  hatched.  He  says:  "  Even  the  little  red 
species,  the  most  diminutive  of  the  race,  will  shoulder  the  eggs  and  the 


Fig.  42.— Egg  parasite,  Lathromeris  cicadas  a,  female; 
b.  abdomen  of  male;  c,  antenna  of  male:  d,  antenna  of 
female — all  greatly  enlarged  (original). 


98 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


young  and  bear  them  off  to  their  cells.  In  all  our  researches  we  found 
them  in  battalions  systematically  arrayed  for  wholesale  plunder  and 
devastation."  Dr.  Smith  corroborates  Professor  Potter,  stating  that  he 
has  himself  observed  a  small  red  ant,  scarcely  as  large  as  its  intended 

victim  (a  young  Cicada  larva), 
seize  the  latter,  shoulder  it.  and 
start  off  at  a  great  speed. 

The  parasites  of  the  eggs. — Sev- 
eral egg  parasites  were  reared  from 
the  eggs  of  the  Cicada,  but  with 
one  exception  were  not  abundant 
in  the  course  of  extensive  breed- 
ings. Single  individuals  were  se- 
cured of  a  Mymarid,  a  Trichogram- 
mid,  and  two  Chalcidids.  The 
excepted  species,  however,  has 
been  reported  as  occurring  in  enor- 
mous numbers,  and  warrants  a 
more  careful  account. 

Attention  seems  to  have  been 
first  called  to  this  parasite  by  Mr. 
William  T.  Hartman  in  a  letter  dated  October  5,  1868,  to  Dr.  Walsh. 
In  this  Mr.  Hartman  states  that  in  getting  some  twigs,  from  which 
he  hoped  to  obtain  the  larvae  of  the  Cicada,  from  an  oak  which  had 
been  very  thickly  oviposited  in,  he  found,  after  leaving  the  tree,  that 
his  head  and  clothes  were  covered  with  what  seemed  to  be  small  red 
flies.  The  branches  secured  were  kept  in  his  office  for  several  days 
and  the  little  red  flies  appeared  again  in  countless  numbers.  The 


Fig.  43. — Female  Megastizus  carrying  a  Cicada  to 
her  burrow — natural  size  (after  Riley). 


Fig.  44. — Burrows  of  Mcgastizus  speciosns:  e,  e,  e,  main  entrance:  c,  c,  c,  c.  chambers  for  larva-  and 
their  food — greatly  reduced  (after  Riley). 

examination  of  these  flies  under  a  microscope  showed  that  they  were 
minute  Hymenoptera  instead  of  Diptera,  as  he  first  supposed.  He 
obtained  very  few  larva?  of  the  Cicada  from  these  shoots,  and  conse- 
quently inferred  that  practically  all  of  the  eggs  had  been  parasitized  by 
this  insect.  He  states  also  that  a  neighbor  of  his  trapped  thousands  of 
them  in  the  soft  paint  which  had  been  newly  applied  to  his  window 
shutters,  and  that  by  the  middle  of  August  this  minute  parasite  was 
"  everywhere  in  force.'1 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 


99 


What  is  probably  the  same  insect  (fig.  42)  was  reared  in  some  egg- 
infested  twigs  collected  by  Mr.  T.  Pergande  in  Virginia  in  July,  1885. 
Dr.  Howard  has  examined  these  specimens,  and  pronounces  them  to  be 
anew  species  of  a  European  genus  not  hitherto  recorded  from  this  con- 
tinent, and  has  described  them  under  the 
name  Latkromeris  deaden.1  The  life  cycle 
of  this  minute  parasite  is  evidently  so 
short  that  it  is  possible  for  it  to  pass 
through  two  or  three  "generations  within 
the  egg  period  of  seven  or  eight  weeks  of 
the  Cicada,  and  this  accounts  for  its  ex- 
cessive multiplication,  as  described  by  Mr. 
Hartman,  and  probably  makes  it  wherever 
it  occurs  one  of  the  most  efficient  agencies 
in  keeping  the  Cicada  in  check. 

The  larger  digger  was}). — I  have  already 
referred  to  the  probability  of  the  larger 
digger  wasp  (Megastizus  speciosus)  preying 
on  belated  individuals  of  the  periodical 
Cicada.  That  the  bulk  of  the  brood  has 
disappeared;  however,  before  this  wasp 
becomes  at  all  abundant  has  been  often 
pointed  out  and  is  not  to  be  questioned, 
and  it  is  well  known  that  the  most  of  its 
work  is  with  the  later-appearing  dog-day  harvest  fly  (Cicada  j)niinosa). 
With  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Pergande  and  the  writer,  Professor  liiley 
worked  out  the  natural  history  of  this  wasp  in  detail  in  its  relation  to 
the  dog-day  harvest  try,  and  published  a  full  illustrated  account  of  the 

species.2  Its  life 
habits  when  it 
preys  on  the  peri- 
odical Cicada  are 
identical  with  its 
habits  with  the 
dog-day  species  or 
any  other  annual 
Cicada  with  which 
it  may  store  its 
burrows.  A  brief 
account  of  the  hab- 
its of  this  wasp  is  here  reproduced,  together  with  the  figures  Illustra- 
ting its  very  curious  and  interesting  life  stages.    (See  figs.  43-49.) 

This  wasp  and  its  near  allies  are  the  natural  and  perhaps  the  most 
destructive  of  the  insect  enemies  of  the  adults  of  the  different  species 


Fig.  45.— Adult  Cicada  with  Megasti- 
zus egg  attached  at  a  —  natural  .size 
(alter  Riley). 


Fig.  46.— Cicada  in  burrow  of  Megastizus,  with  full-grown  larra  of  latter 
feeding— natural  size  (after  Kilev). 


1  Canadian  Entora.,  vol.  30,  April,  1898,  pp.  102, 103. 
-  Insect  Life,  Vol.  IV,  March,  1892,  pp.  218-252. 


100 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


of  the  Cicada,  and  their  operations  are  often  witnessed  and  are  com- 
mented upon  in  print  nearly  every  season.  In  fact,  no  more  curious 
and  interesting  illustration  of  the  wars  which  take  place  in  the  insect 
world  is  afforded  than  the  sight  of  one  of  these  wasps  seizing  its  victim 
and  silencing  and  paralyzing  it  with  a  sting,  which,  while  throwing  it 


Fig.  47. 


-Megastizus  tpeciosus :  a,  larva;  b,  pupa  from  below ;  c,  same,  from  side,  natural  size;  e,  head 
of  larva;  /,  labium  of  same;  g,  maxilla  of  same — enlarged  (after  Riley). 


into  a  comatose  condition  from  which  it  never  recovers  and  suspending 
or  greatly  reducing  its  vital  functions,  does  not  actually  kill  it,  but 
leaves  it  an  unresisting,  living  prey  for  the  delicate  wasp  larva. 
The  fact  that  some  tragedy  is  being  enacted  is  often  brought  to  the 

attention  of  the  ob- 
server by  the  sud- 
den cessation  of  the 
regular  song  note 
of  the  unsuspecting 
Cicada.  The  song 
ends  in  a  sharp  cry 
of  distress,  and  if 
one  is  in  position  to 
witness  the  strug- 
gle the  wasp  may 
be  seen  grasping  its 
victim  and  endeav- 
oring to  take  flight, 
the  quick  thrust  of 
its  sting  having 
almost  immediately 
quieted  the  Cicada.  Very  often  in  the  first  struggle  the  wasp  and  the 
Cicada  fall  to  the  ground  together,  and  it  is  necessary  for  the  former  to 
laboriously  climb  the  tree  again,  dragging  the  Cicada  with  it,  in  order 
to  take  flight  from  an  elevated  point,  the  Cicada  being  usually  much 
heavier  than  the  wasp  and  bearing  the  latter  slowly  to  the  ground  as 


Fig.  48. 


-Larva  of  Megastizus  spinning  its  cocoon — natural  size  (after 
Riley). 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 


101 


it  flies.  For  this  reason  it  often  becomes  necessary  for  the  wasp  to 
carry  the  Cicada  several  times  up  into  near-by  trees,  making  repeated 
short  flights  before  it  reaches  its  burrow. 

The  latter  is  excavated  with  great  activity  by  the  wasp,  the  drier 
and  more  elevated  situations  being  usually  chosen.  The  burrow  ranges 
from  18  inches  to  2  or  3  feet  in  length  and  has  three  or  four  or  more 
branches  of  from  6  inches  to  a  foot  in  length,  each  terminating  in  a  little 
oval  chamber.  Within  each  of  these  chambers  is  stored  a  Cicada  to 
which  a  single  wasp  egg  is  attached  in  such  manner  as  to  be  covered 
and  protected  by  one  of  the  middle  legs  of  the  Cicada. 

The  parasitic  larva  on  hatching  merely  protrudes  its  head  and  makes 
an  opening  into  the  body  of  its  host  at  some  suture  where  entrance  is 
easy,  and  slowly  feeds  on  the  soft,  juicy  interior.  The  larva  remains 
outside  of  the  Cicada  throughout  its  life,  but  by  means  of  its  very 
extensile  anterior  segments,  or  neck,  thrusts  its  small  head  throughout 
the  interior  of  the  Cicada  and  gradually  ex- 
hausts the  soft  parts  until  the  Cicada  becomes 
a  mere  broken  shell.  The  wasp  larva  increases 
in  size  very  rapidly,  ultimately  attaining  a  length 
of  1J  to  2  inches.  It  is  then  nearly  white  in 
color,  with  the  head  and  mouth  parts  remarka- 
bly well  developed  and  the  anterior  segments 
narrowed  and  capable  of  very  great  extension. 
The  whole  transformation  from  the  egg  to  the 
full-grown  larva  is  comprised  in  a  very  brief 
period,  the  egg  hatching  after  two  or  three 
days  and  the  larval  life  not  much  exceeding  a 
week. 

When  fully  grown  the  larva  constructs  a 
cocoon  in  a  very  peculiar  manner.  First  a  cylin- 
der, open  at  both  ends,  is  formed  of  earth  with 
enough  silk  incorporated  to  form  a  rather  dense  and  tough  pod.  When 
the  cocoon  is  nearly  completed  the  ends  are  capped,  and  the  larva 
remains  unchanged  over  winter  and  tranforms  to  a  pupa  in  the  spring 
or  early  summer  shortly  before  the  appearance  of  the  mature  insect. 
About  the  center  of  the  cocoon  are  a  number  of  very  curious  structures 
which  may  serve  as  breathing  pores  until  the  larva  has  become  accus- 
tomed to  its  new  conditions,  since  they  are  ultimately  sealed  over,  as 
represented  in  the  illustration  (fig.  40,  b). 

Most  of  the  fossorial  wasps  have  habits  very  similar  to  this  species, 
but  many  of  the  other  genera  provision  their  nests  with  the  larvre  of 
Lepidoptera  or  with  Orthoptera  or  sometimes  with  the  larger  spiders. 


Fig.  49. — a,  cocoon  of  Megas- 
tiznS,  natural  size;  b,  en- 
larged section  of  pore  (after 
Riley). 


MITE  PARASITES  OF  THE  EGGS. 


Of  the  mites  found  either  preying  on  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada  or  asso- 
ciated with  them  in  such  manner  as  to  suggest  a  predaceous  habit, 


102 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


several  represent  species  which  are  well  known  to  subsist  on  soft-bodied 
insects  or  other  animal  food.    An  almost  equal  number,  however,  belong 


Fig.  50.— Mite  egg  parasite,  Oribatella  sp. 
(original). 


Fig.  51. — Mite  egg  parasite,  Oripoda 
elongata  (original). 


to  a  family  of  mites,  the  Oribatidse,  which,  so  far  as  the  habits  of  the 
species  are  known,  comprises,  with  few  exceptions,  strictly  herbivorous 

mites,  or  such  as  subsist  on 
vegetable  decay.  A  few 
species,  however,  of  this 
family  possess  mouth  struc- 
tures which  indicate  that 
they  usually  prey  on  other 
insects,  and  some  of  them  are 
known  to  feed  on  decaying 
animal  substances.  In  this 
country  two  species  have 
been  recorded  as  being  true 
insect  parasites,  namely, 
Nothrus  orivorous  Packard 
and  Oribata  aspidioti  Ash- 
mead,  the  former  having 
been  observed  to  suck  the 
eggs  of  the  canker  worm, 
and  the  latter  to  feed  on 
scale  in  sects  in  Florida.  The 
types  of  these  two  species 
have  not  been  preserved,  and 
there  is  some  doubt  as  to 
their  correct  reference. 
All  of  the  mites  associated  with  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada,  both  those 
of  doubtful  and  those  of  well-known  pivdaceous  habits,  were  invariably 


g  parasite,  Oppia  2>ilf>sa  (original). 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 


103 


Fig.  53.— Mite  egg  parasite, 
Pcdiculoides  ventricosus 
(original). 


found  in  the  egg  slits,  down  amongst  tbe  woody  fibers,  where  they 
could  have  little  choice  of  food  except  that  supplied  by  the  Cicada 
eggs.    In  no  case  were  the  inites  actually  ob- 
served to  be  feeding  on  the  eggs,  but  frequently 
the  eggs  were  more  or  less  shriveled  and  the 
contents  extracted. 

All  of  the  mites  referred  to  below  have  been 
examined  for  me  by  Mr.  Nathan  Banks,  a  spe- 
cialist in  this  group,  who  has  identified  and 
described  the  material  as  far  as  its  condition, 
as  balsam  mounts,  permits.  The  accompanying 
illustrations  are  from  very  careful  drawings  made 
several  years  since  by  Mr.  Pergande,  who  col- 
lected several  of  the  mites  and  mounted  and 
made  preliminary  studies  of  the  others.  Much 
of  the  material  was  collected  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Allis 
at  Adrian,  Mich.,  in  1885,  the  balance  by  Mr. 
Pergande  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  near-by 
Cicada  districts  in  Virginia  in  the  same  year. 

The  Oribatid  mites. — The  members  of  the  family 
Oribatida?  have  the  popular  designation  of  u  beetle  mites,''  arising  from 
their  possessing  a  hard  chitinous  covering  causing  them  to  resemble 

minute  beetles.  Some  six  distinct 
species  were  found  in  the  adult  stage 
associated  with  the  eggs  of  the*  Ci- 
cada and  several  nymphal  forms — 
the  latter  being  often  showily  colored 
and  the  principal  feeding  stage  of 
these  mites. 

The  following  are  Mr.  Banks's  de- 
terminations of  the  Oribatid  mate- 
rial :  (1)  Oribata  sp.,  collected  by  Mr. 
Pergande  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
in  July,  18S5;  (2)  OribateUa  sp.  (fig. 
50),  collected  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Allis  at 
Adrian.  Mich.,  in  October,  1885;  (3) 
Oripoda  elongate  Bnks.,  MS.  (fig.  51), 
collected  with  the  last;  (4)  Oppia 
pilosa  Bnks.  (fig.  52),  also  collected 
at  Adrian,  Mich.;  (5)  Oribatula  sp., 
collected  by  Mr.  Pergande  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  and  in  Virginia  in 
July.  1 885 :  (G)  Oribatid  nymphs,  col- 
lected with  the  last  and  possibly  be- 
longing to  the  same  species ;  (7)  ll<>p- 
lophora  sp.,  collected  by  Mr.  Allis  in  Michigan  in  October.  1885. 
Miscellaneous  predaceous  mites. — The  following  mites  have  well-known 


Fig.  54. — Mite  egg  parasite,  Tyroglyphus  s]> 
(original). 


104 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


predaceous  habits  and  for  tlie  most  part  are  miscellaneous  feeders,  sub- 
sisting on  almost  any  available  animal  matter,  such  as  soft-bodied  in- 
sects, insect  eggs,  and  various  animal  and  also  vegetable  food  products. 


Fig.  55. — Mite  egg  parasite,  Tphis  ovalis  Fig.  56. — Cheyletus  sp.,   mite  egg 

(original).  parasite  of  Cicada  (original). 


Perhaps  the  mite  most  commonly  found  with  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada 
is  Pediculoides  ventricosus.  This  species  has  a  very  general  feeding- 
habit  and  is  often  an  active  agent  in  the  destruction  of  the  eggs  or 
young  of  insect  pests.  In  breeding  cages  it  is 
often  a  nuisance  by  destroying  the  smaller 
insects  being  kept  under  observation.  The 
general  form  of  the  male  and  of  the  un impreg- 
nated female  of  this  mite  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  next  species  listed.  The  gravid  female, 
however,  develops  an  enormous  globular  exten- 
sion from  the  tip  of  her  abdomen,  as  illustrated 
in  the  accompanying  figure  (fig.  53). 

Another  predaceous  mite,  not  at  all  uncom- 
mon, in  the  egg  slits  both  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  in  Michigan,  is  a  species  of  Tyro- 
glyphus  (fig.  54),  very  near  T.  longior,  which 
species  it  very  closely  resembles.    The  species 
named  is  a  widely  distributed  one  and  frequently 
occurs  also  in  breeding  cages,  and  often  becomes 
very  troublesome  from  its  presence  in  enormous 
numbers  on  various  food  substances  in  the  lar- 
der.   A  smaller  species  of  the  same  genus  was  found  with  the  Cicada 
eggs,  but  the  material  is  not  in  good  enough  condition  to  make  its 
identification  possible. 


Fig.  57.— Bdella  sp.,  mite  par 
asite  of  eggs  of  Cicada— 
greatly  enlarged  (original). 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES. 


105 


A  species  belonging-  to  the  family  GamasidiB  was  found  by  Mr.  Allis 
associated  with  the  eggs  of  the  Cicada  (fig.  55).  It  is  apparently  an 
undescribed  species  and  is  certainly  distinct  from  the  half-dozen  known 
from  North  America.  Mr.  Banks  has  suggested  for  it  the  name  Iphis 
ovalis.  The  family  to  which  it  belongs  includes  true  insect  parasites 
which  either  live  free  or  attached  to  their  hosts,  and  there  is  little 
doubt  but  that  this  mite  was  attracted  by  the  Cicada  eggs. 

Two  mites,  one  belonging  to  the  genus  Cheyletus  (fig.  56)  and  the 
other  to  the  genus  Bdella  (fig.  57),  were  found  associated  with  the  eggs 
of  the  Cicada  in  Virginia  in  July,  1885.  Both  of  these  mites  seem  to 
be  undescribed,  but  the  material  is  not  good  enough  to  warrant  their 
description.  Both  genera  are  known  to  be  carnivorous,  and  the  speci- 
mens secured  had  doubtless  been  preying  on  the  Cicada  eggs. 

THE  VERTEBRATE  ENEMIES. 

Under  this  heading  I  will  supplement  merely  the  general  statements 
given  elsewhere  on  the  destruction  of  the  Cicada  by  birds,  mammals, 
etc.,  by  quoting  the  observations  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Butler,  who  devoted 
considerable  attention  to  the  natural  enemies  of  the  Cicada  in  1885  iu 
southeastern  Indiana.  His  lists  and  notes,  which  follow,  could  be 
much  extended  and,  if  all  the  enemies  of  the  Cicada  were  known,  would 
doubtless  include  all  the  insectivorous  birds  and  mammals  occurring 
within  the  range  of  this  insect.    He  says: 

Among  birds  the  English  sparrow,  Passer  domesticus  Leach,  is  perhaps  its  greatest 
enemy.  Within  one  week  from  the  date  of  the  appearance  of  the  Cicada  in  Brook- 
ville  not  one  could  be  found,  and  I  doubt  if  a  single  specimen  was  permitted  to 
deposit  its  eggs,  owing  to  the  persistent  warfare  waged  by  this  garrulous  sparrow. 

Of  native  birds  the  robin,  Merula  migratoria  Sw.  &  Rich.;  blackbird,  Quiscalua 
purpureas  emeus  Ridg. ;  catbird,  Galeoscoptes  carolinensis  Cab.;  redheaded  wood- 
pecker, Melanerpes  erythrocephalus  Sw. ;  golden-winged  woodpecker,  Colaptes  auratus 
Sw. ;  towhee  bunting,  Pipilo  erythrophthalmus  Vieill.,  and  orchard  oriole,  Icterus 
spurius  Bp.,  were  their  greatest  enemies.  Food  of  every  other  sort  appeared  to  be 
neglected  in  order  that  they  might  feast  for  a  limited  period  upon  the  easily  cap- 
tured Cicada. 

Of  other  birds  examined,  the  following  contained  Cicada  remains :  Brown  thrasher, 
'Harporhynchus  rufus  Cab.;  Baltimore  oriole,  Icterus  galbula  Cones;  scarlet  tanager, 
Pyranga  rubra  Vieill. ;  blue-gray  gnat  catcher,  Polioptila  ccerulea  Scl.;  worm-eating 
warbler,  Eelmintholherus  vermirorus  S.  &  G. ;  purple  martin,  Progne  subis  Baird; 
wood  pewee,  Contopus  virena  Cab.;  wood  thrush,  Hylocichla  musielina  Baird;  yellow- 
throated  vireo,  Lanivireo  flavifrons  Baird;  cardinal  grosbeak,  Cardinal^  rir<ii>ti<i>iux 
Bp.;  tufted  titmouse,  Lophophanes  Tricolor  Bp.;  Carolina  chickadee,  Parus  carolim  n- 
sis  Aud.;  chipping  sparrow,  Sphella  domestica' Cones;  downy  woodpecker,  Picas 
villosus  L. ;  great-crested  flycatcher,  Myiarcluts  orinitus  Cab. ;  indigo  bird,  Passerina 
cyanea  Gray;  cow  bird,  Molothrus  ater  Gray;  white-bellied  nuthatch,  Sitta  carolinen- 
sis Gmel. ;  yellow-billed  cuckoo,  Coccyzus  americanus  Bp. ;  black-billed  cuckoo,  C. 
erythrophthalmus  Baird ;  goldfinch,  Astragalinus  tristis  Cab. ;  crow,  Corvus  fruyivor  us 
Bartr.,  and  cedar  bird,  Ampelis  cedrorum  Baird. 

But  two  species  of  all  the  birds  examined  showed  no  evidence  of  cicada-eating. 
These  were  the  blue  warbler,  Dendroeca  oagrnlea  Baird,  and  the  warbling  vireo, 
Vireosylva  gilva  Cass.    Most  birds  only  eat  the  softer  parts,  but  some  species — the 


106 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


robin,  brown  thrasher,  towhee  bunting,  and  a  few  others — eat  also  the  wings  and 
and  legs  and  even  occasionally  the  head. 

I  found  fox  squirrels,  Sciuriis  niger  ludoviciqnus  Allen,  eating  them,  the  young  show- 
ing greater  fondness  for  this  food  than  did  their  parents.  The  ground  squirrel 
"chipmunk,"  TatMii  striatus  Baird,  was  very  fond  of  them.  I  have  seen  this  mam- 
mal climb  to  the  highest  limbs  of  an  apple  tree  seeking  Cicadas. 

When  Cicadas  fell  into  our  streams  many  of  them  became  the  prey  of  various 
species  of  lish.  Our  fishermen  complained  of  their  inability  to  get  fish  to  take  the 
hook  while  they  were  feeding  upon  this  new  food.  The  remains  of  this  insect  were 
found  in  black  bass,  Mioropterus  salmoides  Henshall;  blue  catfish,  Iehihaelurus  pune- 
tatUB  Jordan;  and  white  sucker,  Catostomus  ieres  Le  S. 

Rev.  D.  R.  Moore,  a  valued  fellow-worker,  found  two  species  of  snails,  Mesodon 
eroleta  Binn,  and  M.  clerata  Say,  feeding  upon  dead  Cicadas.  This  fact  was  a  great 
surprise  to  me.  But  few  instances  were  recorded  of  digger  wasps  killing  these 
insects.  Stizus  grdndia  Say1  was  the  only  species  observed.  Aside  from  the  enemies 
mentioned  above,  there  were  many  others  to  which  I  could  not  direct  my  attention. 
In  general  it  may  be  said  that  beetles,  spiders,  and  other  insect  enemies  prey  upon 
them  incessantly,  while  parasitic  Hies,  scavenger  beetles,  and  ants  destroy  great 
numbers  of  their  dead  bodies. 

THE  FUNGOUS  DISEASE  OF  THE  ADULTS. 

The  peculiar  fungous  disease  of  the  adult  Cicadas  was  noticed  by  Dr. 
Joseph  Leidy  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of 
Sciences  for  1851,  page  235,  and  has  since  been  described  as  Massospora 
cicadina  by  Prof.  C.  H.  Peck.2  Mr.  W.  T.  Hartman,  of  West  Chester, 
Pa.,  speaking  of  the  occurrence  of  this  fungus  in  1851,  says: 

The  posterior  part  of  the  abdomen  in  a  large  number  of  male  locusts  was  filled 
by  a  greenish  fungus.  *  *  *  The  abdomen  of  the  infected  males  was  usually 
inflated,  dry  and  brittle,  and  totally  dead  while  the  insect  was  yet  flying  about. 
Upon  breaking  off  the  hind  part  of  the  abdomen,  the  dust-like  spores  would  fly  as 
from  a  small  puff  ball. 

One  male  specimen,  received  in  1808  from  Pennsylvania,  was  affected 
by  the  same  or  a  similar  fungus,  the  internal  parts  of  the  abdomen 
being  converted  into  what  appeared  to  be  a  brown  mold.  R.  LT.  Warder, 
of  Cleves,  Ohio,  in  speaking  of  this  mold,  says: 

I  found  that  in  many  cases  the  male  organs  of  generation  remained  so  firmly 
attached  to  the  female  during  copulation  that  the  male  could  only  disengage  himself 
by  breaking  away  and  leaving  one  or  two  posterior  joints  attached  to  the  female, 
and  it  is  these  mutilated  males  which  I  found  affected  by  the  peculiar  fungus  men- 
tioned, and  therefore  conclude  that  the  dry  rot  might  be  the  result  of  the  broken 
membranes. 

It  is  well  established,  however,  that  both  males  and  females  are 
affected  by  this  disease,  the  former,  however,  in  the  greatest  numbers, 
and  that  it  is  by  no  means  confined  to  injured  individuals. 

Professor  Peck  describes  this  disease  in  general  terms  as  follows: 

The  fungus  develops  itself  in  the  abdomen  of  the  insect,  and  consists  almost 
wholly  of  a  mass  of  pale-yellowish  or  clay-colored  spores,  which  to  the  naked  eye 
has  the  appearance  of  a  lump  of  whitish  clay.    The  insects  attacked  by  it  become 

1  Synonymous  with  Megast'izus  (Sphecin-s)  speciosus  Drury. 

2 Thirty-first  Rept.  N.  Y.  State  Museum  Nat.  Hist.,  1879,  p.  44. 


REMEDIES  AND  PREVENTIVES. 


107 


sluggish  and  averse  to  night,  so  that  they  can  easily  he  taken  hy  hand.  After  a  time 
some  of  the  posterior  rings  of  the  ahdomen  fall  away,  revealing  the  fungus  within. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  insect  may,  and  sometimes  does,  live  for  a  time  in  this 
condition.  Though  it  is  not  killed  at  once,  it  is  manifestly  iucapacited  for  propaga- 
tion, and  therefore  the  fungus  may  he  said  to  prevent  to  some  extent  the  injury  that 
would  otherwise  he  done  to  the  trees  hy  these  insects  in  the  deposition  of  their  eggs. 
For  the  same  reason,  the  insects  of  the  next  generation  must  he  less  numerous  than 
they  otherwise  would  he,  so  that  the  fungus  may  he  regarded  as  a  beneficial  one. 
In  Columbia  County  the  disease  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent.  Along  the  line 
of  the  railroad  between  Catskill  and  Livingston  stations  many  dead  Cicadas  were 
found,  not  a  few  of  which  were  filled  by  the  fungoid  mass.1 

Professor  Peck  was  not  able  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  time  when 
the  Cicada  is  attacked  by  this  fungus,  suggesting  the  possibility  of  its 
having  entered  the  ground  with  the  larva  and  slowly  developed  with 
its  host,  or  perhaps  entering  the  body  of  the  pupa  at  the  moment  that 
it  emerges  from  the  ground,  with  the  third  possibility  of  its  developing 
annually  in  the  Cicadas  which  appear  every  year,  and  becoming  much 
more  abundant,  and  therefore  noticeable  in  the  years  of  the  appearance 
of  the  great  swarms  of  periodical  Cicadas.  The  latter  supposition  is 
unquestionably  the  correct  explanation.  Mr.  A.  W.  Butler  refers  to 
this  disease  at  some  length  in  his  notes  on  the  Cicada  in  southern 
Indiana  in  1885,  and  is  of  the  opinion  that  nearly  all  of  the  male 
Cicadas  which  are  not  killed  by  birds  and  other  enemies  ultimately 
succumb  to  this  disease. 

REMEDIES  AND  PREVENTIVES. 

THE  GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PROBLEM. 

In  discussing  this  subject,  it  is  well  to  be  again  reminded  that  the 
fears  aroused  by  the  presence  of  this  insect  when  in  great  numbers  are 
unquestionably  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  real  damage  likely  to  be 
done.  While  they  are  most  abundant  in  old  and  undisturbed  forest 
tracts  and  confine  their  work  for  the  most  part  to  forest  trees,  it  is  true 
also  that  in  parks  and  lawns,  especially  such  as  contain  trees  of  the 
original  forest  growth  or  their  natural  and  immediate  successors, 
the  Cicadas  sometimes  appear  in  scarcely  diminished  numbers.  This 
is  true  also  of  orchards  located  on  cleared  lands  or  in  the  vicinity 
of  standing  forests,  and  under  such  circumstances  instances  of  fatal 
results  to  cherished  plants  or  fruit  trees  arc  not  uncommon.  Xotwith- 
standing  the  occasional  instances  of  serious  injury  by  the  Cicada,  it  is 
probably  still  true  that  there  is  no  other  important  injurious  insect  in 
this  country  that  is  responsible  for  so  little  serious  damage  in  propor- 
tion to  the  fears  aroused,  and  yet  every  recurrence  of  this  insect  calls 
forth  the  most  anxious  demands  for  means  of  control  or  extermination. 
The  exploitation  of  the  facts  concerning  this  insect  is,  therefore,  more 
to  allay  such  fears,  which  are  largely  groundless,  and  to  supply  the 
desire  for  information  concerning  it  which  its  presence  always  arouses, 
than  from  the  necessity  of  detailing  elaborate  precautionary  measures. 


•Loc  cit..  pp.  19,20. 


108 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


It  is,  nevertheless,  important  to  know  what  may  be  done  in  the  way  of 
protection  and  control  whenever  occasion  arises  to  make  such  action 
necessary,  as  for  the  protection  of  young  fruit  trees  which  are  especially 
exposed  to  injury  or  trees  and  shrubs  over  limited  areas,  as  in  parks 
and  lawns. 

Precautionary  operations  are  necessarily  against  the  adults  chiefly, 
as  being  the  authors  of  the  greater  damage.  Against  the  larvae  and 
pupae  in  their  subterranean  life  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  take  any 
action  unless  it  be  deemed  desirable  to  attempt  to  exterminate  a  brood 
within  a  given  territory  or  bit  of  woodland,  in  which  case  the  remedies 
commonly  employed  against  other  subterranean  insects,  such  as  the 
Phylloxera  or  other  root  lice,  will  serve  for  this  insect  equally  well,  espe- 
cially in  the  first  year  or  two  of  its  existence. 

MEANS  OF  DESTROYING  THE  EMERGED  PUP^E  AND  ADULTS. 

Two  methods  of  control  suggest  themselves  against  the  adult  insect, 
namely,  (1)  the  killing  of  the  insects  by  direct  applications  or  mechan- 
ical means;  and  (2)  the  adoption  of  steps  to  deter  or  prevent  the  female 
from  ovipositing  on  treated  or  protected  plants. 

All  efforts  in  the  latter  direction  have  proved  unavailing,  with  the 
exception  of  mechanical  precautions,  which  may  be  applied  to  small 
trees  and  shrubs,  such  as  covering  them  with  netting  or  the  continual 
driving  of  the  insect  from  the  plants  by  beating  or  collecting  them  iu 
umbrellas  or  bags  in  the  early  morning  or  late  in  the  evening,  when 
they  are  somewhat  torpid  and  sluggish. 

All  sorts  of  repellant  substances  applied  as  washes  to  trees  have 
proved  unavailing.  Many  experiments  in  this  direction  were  made  by 
Professor  Kiley  in  1868,  and  later,  at  his  instance,  by  Dr.  W.  S.  Barnard, 
who  tried  wetting  the  trees  with  kerosene  emulsions  in  different 
strengths,  with  various  oils,  and  with  carbolic  acid  solutions,  etc.,  all 
most  pungent  and  disagreeably  smelling  substances,  with  results  either 
unsatisfactory  or  of  negative  value. 

Various  treatments  aiming  at  the  destruction  of  the  insects  them- 
selves have  yielded  more  satisfactory  results,  but  to  have  any  practical 
value  it  is  necessary  to  continue  them  daily  or  as  long  as  the  insects 
issue  in  any  numbers.  On  a  large  scale,  therefore,  or  over  a  consider- 
able territory,  in  the  presence  of  immense  swarms,  work  of  this  sort 
will  be  ordinarily  out  of  the  question.  The  recommendations  apply 
particularly,  therefore,  to  small  areas  or  orchards.  Such  work  may  be 
directed  against  the  Cicada  the  moment  it  emerges  from  the  ground, 
while  still  in  the  pupal  stage,  but  perhaps  more  readily  and  success- 
fully against  the  insect  after  it  has  shed  its  pupal  skin  and  is  still 
soft  and  comparatively  helpless,  and  with  less  ease,  but  still  with 
some  degree  of  effectiveness,  after  it  has  hardened  and  begun  its  aerial 
duties. 

If  undertaken  at  the  first  appearance  of  the  Cicada  and  repeated 


REMEDIES  AND  PREVENTIVES. 


109 


each  day,  the  work  of  control  will  be  facilitated  by  the  fact  that  most 
of  the  insects  will  be  on  young  trees  or  shrubbery,  which  can  be  com- 
paratively easily  reached.  With  the  larger  trees  also  it  is  true  that 
immediately  after  emergence  the  bulk  of  the  Cicadas  will  be  on  the 
lower  limbs. 

Of  the  many  substances  experimented  with  few  proved  to  be  of  much 
value,  the  best  results  being  obtained  with  (1)  Pyrethrum  or  insect 
powder,  using  it  both  in  the  dry  form  and  as  an  aqueous  solution ;  (2) 
kerosene  emulsions;  and  (3)  solutions  of  various  acids.  These  sub- 
stances either  effected  the  immediate  death  of  the  insect,  or  attained 
this  end  indirectly  by  preventing  its  transformation  from  the  pupal 
to  the  adult  stage;  in  other  words,  rendering  the  last  molt  impossible. 

Pyrethrum  powder  is  a  perfectly  satisfactory  destroyer  of  the  newly 
tranformed  and  soft  Cicadas,  and  has  considerable  efficacy  against  the 
mature  and  hardened  individuals.  The  best  results  are  obtained  in 
the  morning,  before  the  insects  have  gained  full  strength  to  ascend  and 
while  tbe  plants  were  still  wet  with  dew.  The  powder  may  be  puffed  on 
the  insects  while  clinging  to  shrubbery  or  on  the  lower  branches  of  the 
larger  trees. 

Pyrethrum  powder  is  absolutely  worthless  against  the  pupae,  which, 
even  when  thoroughly  coated  with  it,  will  often  succeed  in  casting  off 
their  powdered  skins  and  escape  uninjured.  The  winged  insects  are, 
however,  very  sensitive  to  the  powder,  and  after  an  application  soon 
show  signs  of  uneasiness  and  in  tbe  course  of  a  few  hours  fall  helpless 
to  tbe  ground,  where,  though  they  may  continue  to  have  the  power  of 
motion  for  a  day  or  more,  a  fatal  termination  is  almost  sure  to  follow. 

The  pyrethrum  and  water  mixture  is  prepared  by  stirring  up  as  much 
of  the  powder  as  the  water  will  hold  in  suspension,  or  a  little  milk  may 
be  added  to  increase  the  holding  power  of  the  water.  The  results 
obtained  with  pyrethrum  in  water  against  the  transformed  insects  are 
as  satisfactory  as  with  the  dry  powder,  with  the  additional  advantage 
of  its  being  possible  to  throw  the  water  by  force  pumps  to  parts  of  the 
plant  where  it  would  be  difficult  to  place  the  powder.  Against  the 
pupae,  the  water  solution  is  more  effective  than  the  powder,  but  is  less 
so  than  kerosene  emulsion. 

Kerosene  emulsion,  as  an  application  for  destroying  the  emerged 
pupae  and  adults,  is  used  in  very  strong  solution,  or  at  a  strength 
ranging  from  one  part  of  the  emulsion  to  one  of  water  up  to  a  dilution 
of  the  emulsion  with  eight  parts  of  water.  The  greater  strengths  were 
more  immediate  in  their  effects,  but  even  with  the  more  diluted  washes 
very  satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained.  The  emulsion  at  once 
stops  all  molting  or  transformation.  Applied  to  the  partly  transformed 
insects,  the  soft  wings  harden  into  shapeless  masses,  and  while  occa- 
sional individuals  may  survive  the  treatment  for  two  days  or  more,  the 
application  is  usually  fatal  in  the  end.  The  treated  pupae  are  unable 
to  transform  to  the  adult  stage  and  they  eventually  die  or  are  devoured 


110 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


by  their  Datura!  enemies.  The  death  of  the  mature  and  hardened 
insect  is  caused  by  closing  its  breathing  pores  with  the  oily  mixture, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  partly  expanded  or  soft,  immature  individuals 
by  the  caustic  effect  it  lias  on  the  forming  wings  and  soft  body. 

The  experiments  with  acids  demonstrated  also  that  exuviation  may 
be  prevented  by  spraying  the  newly  emerged  pupa  with  a  li  per  cent 
solution  of  carbolic  acid  or  a  13  per  cent  solution  of  acetic  acid. 

In  view,  however,  of  the  difficulty  of  controlling  this  iusect  on  a 
large  scale  after  it  has  once  emerged,  it  is  well  to  adopt  any  precaution- 
ary measures  that  may  tend  to  lessen  ox  distribute  the  injury.  The 
advent  of  all  the  large  and  well-recorded  broods  is  commonly  heralded 
in  advance  in  the  local  papers  by  State  entomologists  or  other  persons 
who  take  interest  in  such  recurrences.  Forewarned  in  this  way,  much 
injury  and  loss  may  be  avoided  by  neglecting  all  pruning  operations 
during  the  winter  and  spring  prior  to  the  expected  appearance  of  the 
Cicada,  in  order  to  offer  a  larger  twig  growth  and  distribute  by  this 
means  the  damage  over  a  greater  surface.  Another  precaution,  when 
a  cicada  year  is  expected,  is  to  deter  the  planting  of  orchards,  espe- 
cially in  the  vicinity  of  old  orchards  or  forest  land,  until  the  danger  is 
past.  The  same  advice  applies  to  budding  or  grafting  operations  in 
the  fall  and  and  spring  prior  to  the  Cicada's  appearance.  Much  disap- 
pointment arising  from  injury  to  orchards  or  valuable  nursery  stock 
may  thus  be  avoided.  Vigorous  young  trees  will,  it  is  true,  often 
recover  in  three  or  four  years  from  the  effects  of  a  loss  of  or  injury  to 
a  considerable  percentage  of  their  branches,  but  it  is  difficult  to  over- 
come the  unsymmetrical  appearance  which  will  commonly  result  from 
the  indiscriminate  pruning  caused  by  the  work  of  this  insect,  and  the 
gnarled  and  scarified  branches  will  long  bear  testimony  to  the  industry 
of  the  female  insect. 

Much  of  the  injury  occasioned  by  the  cutting  of  the  twigs  by  the 
female  Cicada  iu  depositing  her  eggs  can  be  remedied  by  subsequent 
proper  treatment  of  the  wounded  plant.  In  the  case  of  old  trees,  the 
main  object  to  be  secured  is  the  rapid  healing  of  the  wounds  and  the 
prevention  of  their  being  used  as  points  of  secondary  attack  by  other 
insects.  The  worst  injured  limbs  in  such  trees  should  be  cut  out,  so 
that  all  the  vigor  of  the  plant  may  be  directed  to  the  remaining  wood. 
Any  treatment  also,  as  of  thorough  cultivation  or  the  use  of  fertilizers, 
which  will  give  the  plant  a  more  vigorous  growth,  will  hasten  the  heal- 
ing process.  With  young  trees  the  worst  affected  branches  should  be 
removed,  and  the  less  injured  ones  protected  from  other  insects  while 
they  are  healing  by  coating  the  wounded  parts  with  grafting  wax  or  a 
moderately  hard  soap.  These  protective  coverings  should  be  renewed 
at  least  once  a  year,  preferably  in  the  spring,  until  the  wounds  are 
entirely  healed  over.  In  the  case  of  a  badly  injured  tree  that  has  been 
recently  budded  or  grafted,  it  may  be  well  to  cut  it  back  nearly  to  the 
bud  or  graft,  so  that  an  entirely  new  top  may  be  made. 


REMEDIES  AND  PREVENTIVES.  Ill 
MEANS  AGAINST  THE  CICADA  IN  ITS  UNDERGROUND  LIFE. 

While  it  is  probably  true,  as  we  have  already  stated,  tbat  the  Cicada 
in  its  underground  life  does  not  work  any  serious  injury  to  plants  on 
account  of  the  very  insignificant  amount  of  nutriment  which  it  annu- 
ally draws  from  the  rootlets,  nevertheless  in  exceptional  cases  where 
the  ground  is  suspected  of  being  very  thickly  populated  with  the  larva' 
and  pupa?  of  this  insect  it  may  be  deemed  desirable  to  undertake  their 
extermination.  This  may  be  accomplished,  as  suggested,  by  usiug  the 
remedies  ordinarily  employed  against  other  subterranean  insects,  such 
as  the  Phylloxera  and  the  apple  root  plant  louse,  with  this  difference, 
that  the  poisons  will  have  to  be  introduced  more  deeply  in  the  soil 
unless  applied  in  the  first  or  second  year  after  the  larvae  have  begun 
their  development. 

If  taken  in  time,  the  number  of  the  larvae  in  the  soil  may  be  greatly 
reduced  by  cutting  off  the  branches  of  the  trees  which  have  been  thickly 
oviposited  in,  thus  preventing  the  hatching  of  the  eggs.  It  will  rarely, 
however,  be  possible  to  so  completely  eliminate  the  eggs  from  the  tree  as 
to  prevent  the  entrance  of  the  larva?  into  the  soil  in  considerable  numbers. 

Of  the  means  employed  against  subterranean  insects  two  are  espe- 
cially suitable  for  the  destruction  of  the  larva?  and  pupa?  of  the  Cicada — 
namely,  bisulphide  of  carbon  injected  into  the  ground  and  tobacco 
dust  incorporated  in  the  soil. 

Tobacco  dust  has  a  manurial  value  and  is  not  at  all  injurious  to 
plants.  Its  value  against  Cicada  larva?  is  purely  theoretical,  but  there 
is  little  doubt  but  that  if  it  can  be  incorporated  iu  the  soil  some  dis- 
tance below  the  surface — namely,  by  first  removing  6  inches  or  more  of 
the  top  soil — it  will  effect  the  destruction  of  many  of  the  delicate  larvae 
and  pupa?  of  the  Cicada?.  This  dust  is  a  waste  product  of  tobacco 
factories  and  costs  about  1  cent  per  pound,  and  is  worth  nearly  its  cost 
as  a  fertilizer. 

Bisulphide  of  carbon,  the  popular  French  remedy  for  the  grape  root 
louse,  will  undoubtedly  prove  an  efficient  means  against  the  Cicada  in 
its  underground  life.  It  will  be  necessary,  however,  except  in  the  first 
year  or  two  of  the  existence  of  the  larva?,  to  inject  it  to  a  depth  of  at 
least  12  inches  below  the  surface.  It  should  not  be  introduced  into  the 
soil  closer  than  1J  feet  to  the  crown  of  young  plants,  and  not  more  than 
an  ounce  of  the  chemical  should  be  introduced  into  each  hole,  which 
should  be  immediately  closed.  An  injection  should  be  made  to  about 
every  square  yard  of  surface.  The  bisulphide  rapidly  evaporates  and 
penetrates  throughout  the  soil,  and  is  very  deadly  to  insects.  It  is 
highly  inflammable,  and  should  not,  therefore,  be  poured  from  one  ves- 
sel to  another  near  a  fire.  It  may  be  introduced  into  the  soil  by  means 
of  the  French  injecting  machines,  or  a  similar  automatic  device  known 
as  the  McGowan  Injector,  manufactured  at  Ithaca,  X.  Y.  This  treat- 
ment is  not  expensive,  and  will  be  valuable  for  orchards,  small  groves, 
or  private  grounds. 

20110— No.  14  8 


112 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA  IN  LITERATURE. 

As  would  naturally  be  inferred  of  an  insect  as  interesting  as  the 
periodical  Cicada,  the  writings  which  have  been  devoted  to  it  from  the 
time  of  its  nr>t  coming  to  the  attention  of  the  colonists  to  the  present 
have  ">een  most  voluminous  in  number  and  extent:  much  of  this 
literature,  however,  is  of  a  fugitive  character  and  scattered  through 
ephemeral  publications  not  now  obtainable. 

TLe  earliest  mention  of  this  insect  is  that  given  in  a  work  entitled 
••^ew  England's  Memoriall."  by  Nathaniel  Moreton.  printed  at  Cam- 
bridge. Mass..  in  1669. 

The  following  transcription  of  this  account,  the  original  of  which  I 
have  not  seen,  is  taken  from  an  editorial  note  to  an  article  on  the 
••  Locust  of  North  America  ~  in  tbe  Barton  Medical  and  Physical  Jour- 
nal of  1S04  Vol.  I.  pp.  oi'—;»y  .    Referring  to  Moreton,  the  editor  says: 

Speaking  of  a  sickness  which,  in  1633,  carried  off  many  of  the  whites  and  Indians, 
in  and  near  to  Plimonth  [Plymouth],  in  Massachusetts,  he  says.  u  It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  the  Spring  before  this  Sickness,  there  was  a  numerous  company  of  Flies,  which, 
were  like  for  bigness  unto  JVa*ps  or  By  mile- Bees,  they  came  out  of  little  holes  in  the 
ground,  and  did  eat  up  the  green  things,  and  made  such  ■  constant  yelling  noise  as 
made  all  the  woods  ring  of  them,  and  ready  to  deaf  the  hearers:  they  were  not  any 

:  l.-r-ri  o:  -.-e:.  by  the  English  in  the  Country  before  this  time:  But  the  Indians 

told  them  that  sickness  would  follow,  and  so  it  did,  very  hot  in  the  months  of  June, 
Julg  and  August  of  th;it  Summer,7'  viz.  1633.  He  says,  "Toward  Winter  the  sick- 
ness ceased;"  and  that  it  was  u a  kinde  of  a  pestilent  Feaver." — New  England's 
Memorial!,  <3tc.,  pp.  90  and  9L 

The  fact  noted  that  the  narive  Indians  associated  the  recurrences  of 
this  insect  with  pestilential  diseases  is  interesting,  as  showing  that  the 
Cicada  had  probably  long  been  under  observation  by  them  and  had 
exerted  a  vivid  influence  on  their  imaginations. 

One  of  the  earliest  references  on  this  continent  to  the  periodical 
Cicada  is  recorded  in  Stead  man's  Library  of  American  Literature,  vol- 
ume 1.  pages  40i'-4b3.  It  is  from  the  writings  of  an  individual  signing 
himself  M.."  supposed  to  have  been  Thomas  Matthews,  son  of 
Samuel  Matthews,  governor  of  Virginia.  It  was  written  in  1705,  and 
refers  to  three  prodigies  which  are  said  to  have  appeared  in  that  coun- 
try about  the  year  1075.  and  which,  from  the  attending  disasters,  were 
looked  upon  as  ominous  presages.  One  of  these  was  the  appearance 
of  a  large  comet:  another,  the  flight  of  enormous  flocks  of  pigeons; 

::.e  ]asr.  relating  evidently  to  the  periodical  Cicada,  as  follows: 
"The  third  strange  appearance  ^as  swarms  of  flies  about  an  inch  long 
big  as  tbe  tip  of  a  man's  little  linger,  rising  out  of  spigot  holes  in 
the  earth,  which  eat  the  new-sprouted  leaves  from  the  tops  of  the  trees 
without  other  harm,  and  in  a  month  left  us.*'2 

T:.e  next  reference  to  this  insect  is  in  a  memorandum,  dated  1715, 

1  There  is  no  recorded  brood  which  could  have  appeared  in  1675,  and  the  year 
meant  is  probably  either  1673  or  1676,  both  of  which  were  cicada  years. 
3 See  Webster,  Insect  Life,  Vol.  II,  p.  161. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  LITERATURE. 


113 


left  by  the  Bev.  Andrew  Sandel.  rector  of  the  Swedish  congregation  at 
Philadelphia.  It  has  little  importance  other  than  its  reference  to  the 
use  by  the  native  Indians  of  the  locusts  as  an  article  of  diet. 

The  knowledge  of  this  insect  seems  to  have  been  first  carried  to  the 
Old  World  by  Pehr  Kalm.  a  papil  of  Linne\  who  was  sent  to  America 
by  the  Swedish  Government  and  traveled  extensively  in  the  colonies 
between  1748  and  1751.  The  account  of  his  'rave's,  published  in  Stock- 
holm between  1753  and  1761,  contains  much  interesting  information 
-  relative  to  the  common  insects  of  this  country  at  early  period,  and 
gives  a  brief  statement  of  the  habits  of  the  periodical  Cicada.  While 
this  work  was  being  printed,  Professor  Kalm  published  a  more  detailed 
account  of  the  species  in  the  Swedish  Transactions  for  1756  pp.  101-116). 
The  account  given  in  his  travels  English  edition.  1771.  Vol.  II.  p.  6  .  is 
as  follows : 

There  are  a  kind  of  locuaU  which  about  every  seventeenth  year  come  hither  in 
incredible  numbers.  They  come  out  of  the  ground  in  the  mi-i  11-  f  Ifcj.  ..*L'i  m.i.ke. 
for  six  weeks  together,  such  a  noise  in  the  trees  and  woods  that  two  persons  thai 
meet  in  such  places,  can  not  understand  each  other,  unless  they  apeak  loader  than 
the  locusts  can  chirp.  During  that  time,  they  make,  with  the  *t::.2  in  their  *ail. 
holes  in  the  soft  bark  of  the  little  branches  on  the  trees,  by  which  means  these 
branches  are  ruined.  They  do  no  other  harm  to  the  trees  or  other  plants.  In  the 
interval  between  the  years  when  they  are  so  numerous,  they  are  only  seen  or  heard 
single  in  the  woods. 

The  original  scientific  description  of  the  specie-  by  Linn^  followed  in 
1758.1  Fabricius  afterwards  described  the  species  in  two  or  three  of  his 
works  under  the  name  Tettigonia  septendeeim,  reviving  one  of  the  old 
generic  names  of  Aristotle  for  this  class  of  insects,  but  Latreille. 
Lamarck,  and  subsequent  authors  retained  Linne's  name. 

In  his  mongraphic  work  on  the  Cicadas  of  the  world.  17ss.  Caspar 
Stoll,  gives  a  figure  and  a  short  description  of  Cicada  septemieeim. 

Some  popular  accounts  of  the  species  closely  fallowed  Liniie's  descrip- 
tion. Under  the  title.  -Some  observations  on  the  Cicada  of  North 
America/7 Peter  Collinson.  esq.,  of  London.  England,  gave  a  rather  full 
account  of  the  insect  as  then  known,  assigning  fourteen  or  fifteen  years 
as  its  life  period,  and  published  a  plate  illustrating  the  adult  insect 
and  a  twig  lacerated  by  the  female.2  Shortly  thereafter  appeared  an 
article  in  Dodsley's  Annual  Registrar  17o7.  p.  103)r  entitled,  "Observa- 
tions on  the  Cicada  or  Locust  of  North  America,  which  appears  period- 
ically once  in  sixteen  or  seventeen  years,  by  Moses  Bar  tram.  17*>3. 
communicated  by  the  ingenious  Peter  Collinson." 

Beferences  to  the  periodical  Cicada  in  American  literature  began  to 
be  more  abundant  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  in 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth.  Thomas  Say,  in  1S17.  referring  to 
"  numerous  accounts  of  it  in  our  public  prints."  Most  of  these,  how- 
ever, were  unimportant  notices  and  are  now  lost  or  not  easily  accessible. 


1  Systema  Xatune,  tenth  edition,  175*.  p.  435. 
z  Philos.  Trans.  1764.  vol.  54,  pp.  65-69. 


114 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


The  most  interesting  contribution  to  the  American  literature  of  the 
Cicada  of  this  period,  comprising  two  papers  with  valuable  editorial 
notes,  is  contained  in  the  Barton  Medical  and  Physical  Journal  of  1804, 
already  cited.  The  first  title  reads:  u  Some  particulars  concerning  the 
locust  of  North  America.  Written  at  Nazareth,  in  Pennsylvania,  Aug. 
27th,  1793.  Communicated  to  the  Editor,  by  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Charles 
Reichel,  of  Nazareth."  The  paper  gives  a  number  of  dates  of  occur- 
rence in  Pennsylvania  and  some  interesting  notes  on  the  habits  of  the 
Cicada — some  errors  in  which  are  corrected  in  a  note  by  the  editor,  who 
announces  that  he  has  "for  several  years,  devoted  a  great  deal  of 
attention  to  the  natural  history  of  this  insect"  and  "  designs  to  publish 
an  extensive  memoir  on  the  subject,"  which,  however,  he  seems  never 
to  have  done. 

The  second  paper  (pp.  56-59)  reads:  u Additional  Observations  on 
the  Cicada  Septendecim.  By  the  late  Mr.  John  Bartram.  From  a  MS. 
in  the  possession  of  the  Editor."  The  older  paper  indicated  in  this 
title  I  have  not  seen,  but  it  is  evidently  included  in  an  account  of  travels 
by  Bartram  in  Pennsylvania  and  Canada,  printed  in  London  in  1751. 
Under  the  title  quoted  are  notes  on  the  appearance  of  a  brood  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  in  1749,  which  began  to  emerge  May  10, 
but  "  in  the  latter  end  of  April  *  *  *  came  so  near  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  that  the  hogs  rooted  up  the  ground  for  a  foot  deep,  all  about 
the  hedges  and  fences,  under  trees  in  search  of  them."  There  follow 
quite  accurate  notes  on  oviposition.  The  editor  concludes  the  article 
by  the  citation  from  Moreton  which  has  been  already  quoted. 

Thomas  Say,  the  father  of  American  entomology,  has  one  brief  com- 
munication on  the  periodical  Cicada,  in  which  he  criticises  the  use  of 
the  name  Locust,  and  gives  references  to  earlier  literature  and  a  brief 
note  on  habits.1 

Another  interesting  communication  of  about  the  same  period  is  by 
Dr.  J.  F.  Davis2  in  which  the  author  controverts  the  u  14  or  15  "  year 
period  suggested  by  Collinson  and  quotes  two  letters,  one  from  the 
Hon.  Judge  Peters,  of  Belmont,  Pa.,  and  the  other  from  Myers  Fisher, 
esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  to  substantiate  the  17-year  period.  Referring  to 
the  noise  of  this  Cicada,  Judge  Peters  says:  "  One  of  your  Spa-fields 
meetings  can  give  you  a  faint  idea  of  their  incessant  and  unmusical 
cheering  and  noise.  If  Hogarth  had  known  these  locusts,  he  would 
have  placed  them  about  the  ears  of  bis  enraged  musician.  Knife- 
grinders,  ballad  singers,  etc.,  would  have  been  lost  in  their  din." 

Mr.  Fisher  gives  a  very  accurate,  though  brief,  statement  of  the  life 
cycle  of  the  species  (if  his  belief  that  they  occur  at  great  depths  be 
excepted),  and  adds  the  very  significant  statement  that  u  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  they  appear  every  year  in  some  part  or  other  of 
the  United  States,  with  the  complete  period  of  seventeen  years  between 
every  local  appearance." 

1  Mem.  Phila.  Soc.  Prom.  Agric,  1818,  v.  4.  p.  225. 

2  Jour.  Sci.  and  Arts  Roy.  Inst.,  1819,  v.  6,  pp.  372-374. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  LITERATURE. 


115 


Dr.  S.  P.  Hildreth,  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  made  two  very  valuable  con- 
tributions on  the  Cicada  to  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts 
(1826  and  1830),  which  are  much  more  accurate  than  any  of  the  earlier 
papers,  and  too  long  to  be  quoted  in  this  place.  In  the  second  of  these 
papers  he  calls  attention  to  the  existence  of  the  small  form  of  Cicada, 
and  gives  a  colored  plate  representing  five  views  of  the  adult  insect. 
Dr.  Hildreth  imblished  a  third  paper  also  in  1847.1 

The  first  account  of  this  insect  to  be  issued  as  a  separate  work  is  the 
memoir  of  Prof.  Xathaniel  Potter,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  entitled  u  Notes 
on  the  Locusts,"  etc.,  written  in  1834  and  privately  published  in  1839. 
This  pamphlet  of  twenty-nine  pages  and  one  colored  plate,  represent- 
ing the  insect  in  both  sexes  and  also  the  early  stages,  together  with 
the  nature  of  its  work  on  twigs,  and  anatomical  details,  was  the  chief 
source  of  information  for  the  account  published  by  Harris  in  his 
"  Insects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,"  and  while  containing  some  wrong 
inferences,  gives  with  remarkable  accuracy  and  detail  observations  on 
practically  all  of  the  features  of  the  insect's  life  history  aud  habits, 
which  are  open  to  easy  study,  not  only  in  its  underground  existence, 
but  throughout  its  transformation  aud  aerial  life.  Professor  Potter 
was  evidently  fully  aware,  not  only  of  the  two  distinct  sizes  or  varieties 
of  the  Cicada,  but  also  of  the  depth  to  which  the  larvae  penetrate  and 
the  fact  of  their  forming  roofs  or  turrets  over  their  burrows  some  time 
before  the  period  of  their  emergence — a  record  which  has  been  hitherto 
overlooked  and  the  credit  for  this  discovery  assigned  to  a  much  later 
period. 

In  speaking  thus  most  favorably  of  Professor  Potter's  memoir  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  probably  much  of  the  actual  observation  and 
study  upon  which  it  is  based  are  due  to  the  research  of  Dr.  Gideon  B. 
Smith,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  who  is  given  full  credit  in  one  of  the  intro- 
ductory paragraphs,  in  these  words:  "As  our  professional  avocations 
would  not  permit  us  to  devote  our  whole  time  to  the  pursuit,  it  became 
necessary  to  call  in  the  aid  of  a  colleague  whose  knowledge  of  ento- 
mology and  industry  could  be  relied  upon.  These  qualifications  were 
found  and  well  exemplified  in  Mr.  Gideon  B.  Smith.  Should  our  labors 
reflect  any  light  on  so  obscure  a  subject,  the  credit  is  equally  due  to 
him."  These  two  men  were  the  first  to  make  a  careful  and  at  all  com- 
plete study  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  Professor  Potter's  interest  in  the 
subject  dating,  he  says,  from  1783,  and  great  credit  is  due  them,  and 
especially  to  Dr.  Smith,  whose  later  work  will  be  subsequently  consid- 
ered. 

Several  brief  accounts  of  the  Cicada  appeared  in  American  and  for- 
eign publications  about  this  time,  adding  nothing,  however,  to  the 
facts  already  obtained,  the  most  notable  perhaps  being  the  account  by 
J.  O.  Westwood  in  his  "Classification  of  Insects,"2  in  which  he  refers 
to  the  literature  and  habits  of  the  species  very  briefly. 


1  Loc.  cit.,  ser.  2,  vol.  3,  pp.  216-218. 


2 1839-40,  Vol.  II,  p.  426. 


116 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


The  next  step  of  real  importance  was  the  discovery  of  a  13-year 
southern  brood  by  Dr.  1).  L.  Phares,  of  Woodville,  Miss.,  and  the  pub- 
lication of  the  fact  in  1845  in  the  Woodville  Republican. 

Both  before  and  after  this  time  Dr.  Phares  was  in  communication 
with  Dr.  Gideon  B.  Smith,  referred  to  above,  whom  he  evidently  ulti- 
mately convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  13-year  period  for  the  southern 
broods. 

Dr.  Smith  continued  for  many  years  the  work  which  he  had  begun 
as  the  colleague  of  Professor  Potter,  keeping  his  notes  in  the  form  of  a 
rather  voluminous  manuscript,  which  was  first  prepared,  he  states,  in 
1834,  the  date  signed  to  Professor  Potter's  memoir.  Dr.  Smith  twice 
entirely  rewrote  and  revised  his  manuscript,  the  title  page  of  the  last 
copy  reading  as  follows: 

The  American  Locust  Cicada  septendecim,  et  tredecim.  Embracing  the  Natural 
history  and  habits  of  the  insect  in  its  perfect  state  and  while  under  ground,  with 
drawings  of  its  several  organs  and  the  perfect  insects,  the  egg  and  the  young  taken 
from  life,  with  a  register  of  the  places  and  time  of  its  appearance  in  every  part  of 
the  United  States,  by  Gideon  B.  Smith,  M.  D.  Originally  written  in  1834,  tran- 
scribed with  additions  1851,  and  rewritten  with  additions  and  illustrations  in  Feb- 
ruary 1857,  in  the  64th  year  of  my  age. — G.  B.  S. 

This  manuscript  is  substantially  the  paper  by  Professor  Potter 
revised,  with  much  interesting  matter  added  and  particularly  a  regis- 
ter of  some  twenty-one  broods  in  many  colonies,  in  which  are  separated 
the  two  tribes,  one  of  seventeen  years,  represented  by  fourteen  broods, 
and  the  other  thirteen  years,  represented  by  seven  broods.  Dr.  Smith's 
classification  of  the  broods  under  these  two  tribes  undoubtedly  resulted 
from  his  correspondence  with  Dr.  Phares  and  perhaps  other  observers 
residing  in  the  South.  Most  unfortunately,  Dr.  Smith  failed  to  publish 
this  very  interesting  manuscript  and,  therefore,  never  received  due 
credit  for  the  valuable  work  which  he  accomplished. 

Townend  Glover  used  this  manuscript  to  some  extent  in  his  article 
on  the  Cicada  in  the  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
1867  (1868),  referring  to  Dr.  Smith  as  having  devoted  much  time  to 
studying  the  habits  of  the  Cicada,  and  as  the  best  authority  on  the 
subject  in  the  Middle  States,  and  particularly  as  holding  that  there  are 
two  tribes  "differing  only  from  each  other  in  the  period  of  their  lives, 
the  northern  being  17  years,  and  the  other,  or  southern  tribe,  requiring 
only  13  years  in  which  they  perform  their  transformations."  The  use 
of  Dr.  Smith's  manuscript  afterwards  by  Professor  Riley,  as  will  be 
subsequently  noted,  was  not  of  such  character  as  to  bring  into  promi 
nence  the  real  value  of  Dr.  Smith's  contribution  to  science.  The  only 
published  record  made  by  Dr.  Smith  known  to  me  is  his  Scientific 
American  note  of  March  22, 1851,  which  was  afterwards  communicated 
by  Mr.  Spence  to  the  London  Entomological  Society.1  In  this  note 
Dr.  Smith  briefly  reviews  and  sums  up  the  results  of  his  seventeen 

1  Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Lond.  April  7, 1851,  Vol.  I,  pp.  80,  81. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  LITERATURE. 


117 


years'  study  of  this  insect,  and  states  that  he  has  located  thirty  dif- 
ferent locust  districts,  occupying  fourteen  of  the  seventeen  years. 
Since  he  does  not  mention  the  13-year  race  he  was  evidently  unaware 
of  its  existence  as  late  as  1851. 

From  this  time  on  until  important  publications  by  Walsh  and  Riley, 
a  number  of  articles  on  the  Cicada  appeared,  some  of  them  of  consider- 
able interest  and  value,  and  notably  those  by  Miss  Magaretta  H.  Mor- 
ris, of  Germautown,  Pa.,  on  the  habits,  times  of  appearance,  and  rav- 
ages occasioned  by  this  insect,  and  Prof.  Joseph  Leidy  on  the  fungous 
disease  attacking  the  species.1  Dr.  J.  0.  Fisher,  in  1851,  described  as  a 
distinct  species  Cicada  cassinii,  the  small  form  referred  to  by  several 
of  the  earlier  authors,  and  to  this  paper  was  appended  comparative 
notes  on  the  habits  of  the  two  forms  by  John  Cassin.2  About  tbis 
time,  1851-52,  also  appeared  the  very  complete  account  by  Dr.  Harris 
in  his  "  Insects  of  New  England,"  and  also  some  anatomical  studies  of 
the  sexual  system  and  musical  apparatus  by  Dr.  W.  I.  Burnett.  In 
1856  Dr.  Asa  Fitch,  in  his  first  report  on  the  insects  of  New  York,  gives 
an  extended  account  of  the  periodical  Cicada,  classifying  or  listing  some 
nine  broods,  but  not  adding  otherwise  particularly  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  insect.  Several  accounts  of  the  species  followed,  including  the 
notice  of  a  13-year  brood,  which  Dr.  Phares  claims  to  have  published  in 
the  Eepublican, of  Woodville,  Miss.,  May  5, 1858,  under  the  title  "  Cicada 
tredecim" — the  earliest  published  suggestion  of  this  name  for  the 
13  year  race.  None  of  the  other  communications,  including  papers  and 
notices  by  Fitch,  Walsh,  Glover,  and  Cook,  are  of  great  importance,  if 
we  except  the  reference  by  Glover  to  Smith  already  noted. 

The  next  step  of  real  importance  was  the  publication  by  Walsh  and 
Riley  in  the  first  volume  of  the  American  Entomologist  of  a  very  full 
and  illustrated  editorial  account,  in  which  the  13-year  species  is  char- 
acterized and  the  13-year  period  for  the  southern  broods  is  fully  estab- 
lished and  a  register  of  some  sixteen  broods  is  given.  Professor  Riley 
in  his  First  Missouri  Report  reproduces  this  article  with  the  additions 
to  the  broods  derived  chiefly  from  the  manuscript  memoir  by  Dr.  Smith, 
which  had  been  in  the  meantime  communicated  to  him  by  Dr.  J.  G. 
Morris,  of  Baltimore,  Md.  In  this  paper  Professor  Riley  revised  and 
renumbered  the  broods,  increasing  their  number  to  twenty- two.  Pro- 
fessor Riley's  classification  of  the  broods,  and  the  details  of  the  life 
history  and  habits  of  the  insect,  as  given  by  Walsh  and  Riley  in  the 
American  Entomologist,  and  later  by  Riley  in  his  report,  have  been 
accepted  as  the  chief  source  of  information  since. 

From  the  date  of  these  articles  until  1885,  the  additions  to  the  liter- 
ature are  chiefly  of  records  bearing  on  the  distribution  of  the  broods, 
furnished  notably  by  Rath  von,  McOutcheon,  Riley,  Le  Baron,  Glover, 
Phares,  Packard,  Lintner,  and  many  others. 

1  Described  by  C.  H.  Peck  as  Massospora  cicadina  in  31st.  Rept.  N.  Y.  State  Mus. 
Nat.  Hist.  1879,  pp.  19,  20,  and  44. 

2Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Phila.  1851,  Vol.  V.  pp.  273-275. 


US 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


The  recurrence  in  1885  of  the  great  Brood  XXII  of  the  17-year  race, 
in  conjunction  with  the  very  important  13-year  Brood  VII,  gave  again 
a  great  stimulus  to  the  study  of  this  insect.  Professor  Riley  published 
in  June,  1885,  as  Bulletin  No.  8  of  the  Division  of  Entomology,  an 
account  of  both  races  with  a  very  full  chronology  of  all  the  known 
broods.  This  data  was  repeated  in  part,  with  important  additions,  in 
the  Report  of  the  Department  for  that  year,  published  in  1886.  He 
also  published  a  number  of  popular  articles,  covering  special  phases  or 
the  general  subject.  Other  general  articles  were  published  by  Dr. 
Lintner  and  many  others.  The  output  of  literature  on  the  periodical 
Cicada  since  1885,  if  one  takes  the  daily  press  notices  and  articles  into 
account,  has  been  enormous  and  particularly  in  the  special  Cicada 
years.  This  has  resulted  from  the  fact  that  the  dates  for  the  appear- 
ances of  all  the  broods  being  now  well  understood,  the  recurrences 
have  been  foretold  and  looked  forward  to,  thus  vastly  increasing  the 
popular  interest.  The  new  information  gained  has  related  chiefly  to 
facts  of  distribution.  Some  interesting  data  have  been  given,  however, 
on  the  subject  of  the  peculiar  huts  or  turrets,  which  are  sometimes  con- 
structed by  the  emerging  pupae,  and  some  anatomical  studies  have  been 
made. 

For  a  description  of  these  and  other  papers  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  bibliography  of  the  writings  on  the  periodical  Cicada  which  is 
appended.  The  important  papers  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present 
are  listed,  omitting  much  of  the  ephemeral  and  less  valuable  matter 
which  added  little  or  nothing  to  the  knowledge  of  the  habits  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  species 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


[Chronologically  arranged.] 

Moreton,-Xatha^iel. — "New  England's  Memoriall."  Cambridge,  1669. 

Refers  to  a  "  kinde  of  pestilent  feaver  "  fatal  to  whites  and  Indians  in  season 
of  1633,  ascribed  by  the  Indians  to  the  "flies,"  which  appeared  that  year  and 
which  are  briefly  described. 

Matthews.  Thomas  ( ?). — Steadman's  Lib.  Am.  Lit..  Vol.  I.  pp.  462. 
463  (1887). 

Quotes  the  writings  of  1705  of  "  T.  M.."  supposed  to  refer  to  Thomas  Matthews, 
describing  the  occurrence  of  a  swarm  of  Cicadas  as  one  of  three  prodigies 
appearing  about  1675.    (See  p.  112.) 

Sandel.  Andrew. — Mitchell  and  Miller's  Medical  Repository,  Vol.  IV. 
p.  71.    (Abstract.)    (Memorandum  dated  1715.) 

Refers  to  the  use  of  the  Cicadas  as  food  by  the  Indians. 

Kalm,  Pehr. — Beskrifning  pa  et  slagts  Gras-Hoppor.  uti  Xorra 
Americas  (Cicada  septendecim).    (Vetensk.  Acad.  HandL  17,  1756,- 
pp.  101-116— German  Translation  1767,  t.  26,  pp.  130-143.) 

Kalm,  Pehr. — Travels  in  N.  A.    1753-61.    Vol.  II.  p.  6. 

Gives  a  brief  account  of  the  species  which  is  said  to  come  about  every  17th 
year. 

Linne,  C— System  a  Naturae,  10th  Edit..  175S.  p.  436. 

Original  description  of  the  species. 

Collinson,  Peter. — Some  observations  on  the  Cicada  of  North 

America.    Pliilos.  Trans.  Lond.,  1764,  vol.  54.  pp.  65-69,  1  pi. 
Bartram,  Moses. — "Dodsley's  Annual  Register.'"  1767,  p.  103. 

Account  of,  in  letter  to  Peter  Collinson.  London,  England. 
Fabricius,  J.  C.— Syst.  Ent..  1775.  p.  679,  Xo.  6:  Ins..  II.  1781,  p.  319. 
No.  6;  Mant.  Ins.,  II.  1787,  p.  260.  No.  9. 

Described  as  Tettigonia  septendecim. 

Stoll,  Caspar.—"  Der  Cicaden,"  etc..  1788. 

Gives  a  figure  and  short  description  of  Cicada  septendecim. 

Eeichel,  Rev.  Charles. — Some  particulars  concerning  the  locust  of 

North  America.  (Barton  Med.  and  Phys.  Journal.  1804.  Vol.  I.  p.  52.  ff.) 
Bartram,  John. — Additional  observations  on  Cicada  septendecim. 

From  a  MS.  in  the  possession  of  the  editor.    Barton  Med.  and  Phys. 

Journ.,  Vol.  I,  1804,  pp.  56-59.    (Earlier  paper  prob.  1751,  Miscl.  in 

Travels  in  Pa.  and  Can.    Lond.,  Sept..  1751.) 
Say,  T.— Mem.  Philad.  Soc.  Prom.  Agric.,  1818.  vol.  4.  p.  225. 

Refers  to  earlier  literature  and  gives  brief  note  on  habits. 

Dayis,  J.  F. — On  the  Cicada  septendecim.    Journ.  Sci.  and  Arts  Roy. 

Inst.,  1819,  vol.  6,  pp.  372-374. 

Criticises  paper  of  Collinson:  quotes  letters  by  Hon.  Judge  Peters  and  Myers 
Fisher  to  substantiate  the  17-vear  period. 

119 


120  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

Hildreth,  S.  P.— Am.  Journ.  Sci.  and  Arts,  1826,  vol.  10,  pp.  327-329. 

Habits  and  appearances  detailed  with  considerable  accuracy. 

Hildreth,  S.  P. — Ueber  die  americanische  Cicada  (Cicada  septende 
dm).    (Fror.  Not.,  Bd.  22,  No.  426,  1828,  pp.  33-35.) 

Booth,  Jesse. — Ueber  die  Cicada  septendecim.  (Fror.  Not.,  Bd.  22,  No. 
468, 1828,  pp.  84-87.) 

Hildreth,  S.  P. — Notices  and  observations  on  the  American  Cicada 
or  Locust.    Am.  Journ.  Sci.  and  Arts,  1830,  vol.  18,  pp.  47-50. 

Characters,  habits,  and  appearances;  refers  also  to  existence  of  small  forms. 

Hildreth,  S.  P. — Ueber  Cicada  septendecim — Isis,  1832,  pp.  1059, 
1060. 

Children,  J.  G. — Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  London,  1837,  Vol.  1,  p.  xxx. 

Exhibited  specimens  of  the  different  stages  and  read  extract  from  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Harlan,  of  Philadelphia,  giving  a  brief  statement  on  habits,  17-year  brood,  etc. 

Potter,  Nathaniel. — Notes  on  the  Locusta  septentrional  is  amerieanw 
decim  septima.    (Baltimore,  J.  Kobinson,  1839,  27  pp.,  1  pi.) 

History,  habits,  descriptions,  and  figures  of  Cicada  septendecim. 

Westwood,  J.  O.— Classification  of  Insects,  II,  p.  4, 1839-40. 

Brief  account  of  the  species  and  the  reference  to  the  literature. 

Phares,  Dr.  D.  L. — Woodville,  Miss.  Eepublican,  May  17, 1845. 

Published  fact  of  a  13-year  brood  in  Mississippi. 

Forsley,  C.  G. — On  the  Cicada  septendecim  in  1835  in  Louisiana. 
Proc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  1846,  vol.  2,  p.  162. 
I  Gives  habits  and  distribution. 

Morris,  M.  H.— Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phil.,  1846,  vol.  3,  pp.  132-134. 

Ravages,  habits,  and  the  times  of  appearance  at  various  places. 

Morris,  M.  H. — Apple  and  pear  trees  destroyed  by  the  locust.  Am. 
Agric,  March,  1847,  vol.  6,  pp.  86,  87. 

Ravages,  habits,  and  transformations. 

Hildreth,  S.  P. — Cicada  septendecim  in  1846.  Am.  Journ.  Sci.  and 
Arts,  March,  1847,  ser.  2,  vol.  3,  pp.  216-218,  1-2 j  Ann.  and  Mag. 
Nat,  Hist,  1847,  vol.  20,  pp.  136-138. 

Habits  of,  in  Ohio. 

Morris,  M.  H.— Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phil.,  1847,  vol.  3,  pp.  190,  191. 

Ravages  of  the  larvte ;  enemies. 

Hildreth,  S.  P. — Die  Siebzehnjahr-locust  (Cicada  septendecim).  Fror. 

Not.,  Bd.  3,  No.  60,  1847,  pp.  241-245. 
Hildreth,  S.  P. — Detail  sur  les  moeurs  de  la  Cicada  septendecim. 

Iiistitut,  XVI,  No.  744,  1848,  pp.  107,  108. 
Morris,  M.  H. — Destruction  of  fruit  trees  by  the  seventeen-year 

locust.    Am.  Agric,  September,  1848,  vol.  7,  p.  279. 

Notes  on  injuries  to  forest  and  fruit  trees  by  the  larva?. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


121 


S:\iith,  Dr.  Gideon  B. — On  the  American  locust  (Cicada  septendecim). 

Scientific  American,  March  22,  1851;  presented  by  Spence  in  Proc. 

Lond.  Ent.  Soc.  (n.  s.),  Yol.  I,  1851,  pp.  80,  81. 

Reviews  bis  work:  states  that  he  has  located  thirty  locust  districts,  occupy- 
ing fourteen  of  the  seventeen  years;  13-year  race  not  mentioned. 

Spence,  E,  H.— Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Lond.  (n.  s.),  Yol.  I,  1851,  pp.  103, 104. 

Letter  by,  on  the  Cicada  in  Maryland  in  1851. 

Leidy,  J.— Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phil.,  1851,  Yol.  Y,  p.  235. 
Characters  of  the  spores  of  a  fungus  affecting  the  Cicada. 

Fisher,  Dr.  J.  C— Proc.  Phila.Acad.  Nat.  Sci., Yol. Y.  1851.  pp.  272, 273. 

Description  of  Cicada  cassinii  as  a  new  species  hitherto  confounded  with  C. 
septendecim. 

Oassin,  John. — Xotes  on  the  above  species  of  Cicada  (C.  cassinii),  and 
on  the  Cicada  septendecim  Linn.  Proc.  Acad.  Xat.  Sci.,  Phil.,  Sep- 
tember, 1851,  Vol.  Y,  pp.  273-275. 

Characters  and  habits  of  Cicada  septendecim  and  of  Cicada  cassinii  compared. 

Burnett,  Dr.  W.  J.— Proc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  IV,  1851.  p.  71  and 
p. 111. 

Sexual  system  and  musical  apparatus:  appearance  of  in  cleared  lands. 

Burnett,  Dr.  YY  J. — Points  in  the  economy  of  the  17-year  locust 
.  (Cicada  septendecim  bearing  on  the  plural  origin  and  special  local 

creation  of  the  species.    Proc.  Am.  Ass.  Adv.  Sci.,  6th  Meet.,  1851,  pp. 

307-311. 

Wild,  Ph. — Sur  les  moeurs  de  la  Cicada  septendecim.    Ann.  Soc.  Ent. 

France,  2d  Ser.  vol.  10.,  1852,  Bull.,  pp.  XYII1,  XIX. 
Harris,  T.  W.— Insects  of  Xew  England.  1852,  p.  180-189:  Ins.  Inj.  to 

Yeget.,  1860,  pp.  206-217 ;  do.  Flint  Edit.,  1863,  pp.  206-219. 
General  account  of  the  species. 

Evans,  Gurdon. — Insects  injurious  to  vegetation.    Trans.  X.  Y.  State 

Agric.  Soc.  for  1851  (1852),  vol.  11,  pp.  741-751. 

Notes  concerning  various  insects  of  Madison  County,  N.  Y.,  including  the 
17-year  Cicada. 

Fitch,  A. — Report  (on  the  noxious,  beneficial,  and  other  insects  of  the 
State  of  Xew  York).  Trans.  X.  Y.  State  Agric.  Soc.  for  1851  (1855), 
vol.  U,  pp.  712-753 ;  1st  and  2d  Bepts..  Albany,  1856,  pp.  38-19. 

Gives  a  general  account  of  the  species  and  enumerates  nine  broods. 

Smith,  Dr.  Gideon  B. — The  American  Locust,  etc.  Last  revision. 
February,  1857. 

Unpublished  manuscript  used  in  part  by  Glover  and  Riley. 
Phares,  Dr.  D.  L. — Bepublican.  Woodville,  Miss.,  May  5,  1858. 

Published  a  notice  of  the  13-year  brood  under  the  title  "  Cicada  tredecim." 

Fitch,  A.— The  Entomologist,  Xo.  22— The  17 -year  Cicada.  The 
Country  Gentleman.  March  29. 1860,  vol.  15.  p.  210. 

Remarks  ou  popular  names  for  insects:  regularity  of  appearance  of  Cicada 
septendecim :  necessity  of  ascertaining  its  distribution  in  order  to  predict  its 
future  visitations. 


122 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Stal,  C— Ann.  Soc.  Ent.  France.  4tli  Ser.,  Vol.  I,  September,  1861, 
p.  618. 

Reference  of  Cicada  septendeoim  to  genus  Tibicen  Latr. 
Merrick,  E.  C. — Uprising  of  the  17-year  Cicada  in  New  Haven  County, 
Conn.,  in  18G0.    Am.  Journ.  Arts  and  Sci.,  2d  Ser.,  vol.  33,  1862,  pp. 
433,  434. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Seventeen-year  locust.    Prairie  Farmer,  August  19, 1865, 
vol.  32.  (n.  s..  vol.  16), p.  127. 

Agrees  with  S.P.G.in  doubting  that  Cicada  septendeoim  lives  seventeen  years 
immature,  and  gives  reasons  for  his  douht. 

Walsh,  B.  D.— Pract.  Ent.,  December  25, 1805,  Vol.  I,  pp.  18, 19. 

Answer  to  inquiry  of  M.  S.  Hill ;  Cicada  districts  of  the  United  States,  as  given 
by  Fitch  in  New  York  Report.    I,  p.  39;  habits. 

Riley,  C.  V.— Prairie  Farmer,  September  1, 18G6,  vol.  34,  (n.  s.,  vol.  18), 
p.  136. 

Answer  to  inquiry  of  J.  D.  Swain;  condensed  account  of  Cicada  canieularis; 
comparison  with  Cicada  septendecim. 

Walsh,  B.  D.— Pract.  Ent,,  December,  1866,  vol.  2,  p.  33. 

Answer  to  inquiry  of  M.  S.  Hill;  Cicada  septendecim  compared  with  an  unde- 
scribed  species. 

Leidy,  Dr.  Jas.— Proc.  Ac.  ]STat.  Sc.  Phil.,  1867,  p.  93. 

Mentions  recent  appearance  of  in  various  counties  in  Virginia. 

Glover,  T.— Repf.  (U.  S.)  Comm.  Agric.  for  1866  (1867),  p.  29. 

Brief  notes,  with  dates  of  appearance. 

Walsh,  B.  D.— Pract.  Ent.,  February,  1867,  vol.  2,  p.  56. 

Answer  to  inquiry  of  M.  S.  Hill;  variations  in  the  imago. 

Walsh,  B.  D. — The  17-year  locust.    Dixie  Farmer,  June  11,  1868. 

Periodicity  and  local  distribution  of  the  various  broods. 

Rutherford,  H. — New  York  Semi- Weekly  Tribune,  June  27,  1868. 

Records  the  appearance  of  Brood  XXII  in  Rutland  County,  Vt.,  in  1851  and 
1868,  and  also  of  Brood  XVIII  on  Long  Island  in  1855. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  17-year  Cicada.    Prairie  Farmer,  July  4, 1868,  vol.  38, 
(n.  s.,  vol.  22),  p.  2. 

Dates  and  localities  of  occurrences. 

Riley,  C.  V.— Prairie  Farmer,  July  11, 1868,  vol.  38,  (n.  s.,  vol.  22),  p.  10. 

Occurrence  of  in  Michigan. 

Glover,  T.— Rept.  (IT.  S.)  Comm.  Agric,  for  1867  (L868),  pp.  67-71,  figs. 
(Published  after  July.) 

General  account  of  the  species,  quoting  Harris  &  Smith,  and  referring  to  the 
latter's  13-year  broods. 

Walsh,  B.  D. — Study  of  periodical  Cicada.    Am.  Ent.,  Vol.  I.  pp.  7, 8. 
September,  1868. 

Records  unsuccessful  experiments  to  get  the  Cicada  to  sting  the  flesh,  and 
urges  that  the  stings  are  probably  by  Stizus  grandis. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


123 


Walsh,  B.  D.  and  0.  V.  Riley.— The  sting  of  the  17-year  Cicada. 
Am.  Ent.,  October,  1808,  Vol.  I,  pp.  36,  37. 

Communications  from  F.  W.  Collins,  R.  Richardson,  and  B.  Borden  on  the 
reputed  sting  of  the  Cicada  and  on  the  habits  of  Stiztis  grandis. 

Walsh,  B.  D.  and  C.  V.  Riley. — The  periodical  Cicada.    Am.  Ent., 

December,  1868,  Vol.  I,  pp.  03-72,  tigs.  58-64.    Extract:  Op.  cit.  June, 

1860,  Vol.  I,  p.  202. 

Characterization  of  the  13-year  brood  of  Cicada  as  a  new  species,  Cicada  tre- 
decim  :  dimorphism  of  the  same  and  of  Cicada  septendecim  :  seasons,  natural  his- 
tory, transformations,  enemies,  sting,  and  injuries  of  these  species;  chronological 
history  of  their  several  known  broods;  figures  the  several  stages  of  Cicada  sep- 
tendecim, the  towers  made  by  the  pupa,  and  twigs  with  eggs. 

Cook,  A.  J. — Remarks  on  some  insects  injurious  to  vegetation  in 
Michigan.  7th  Annual  Rept.  Seer.  State  Board  Agriculture  Michigan 
for  1808  (1868),  pp.  103-170. 

Habits  and  means  against  Cicada  septendecim. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Entomology.    Prairie  Farmer  Annual  (No.  2  for  1809), 

1808,  pp.  30-41,  0  figs. 

Includes  an  account  of  the  periodical  Cicada  with  figures. 

Warder,  R.  H. — Notes  on  the  periodical  Cicada.  It  does  oviposit  in 
evergreens.    Am.  Ent.,  February,  1809,  Vol.  I,  p.  117. 

Oviposition  of  Cicada  septendecim  in  three  evergreens;  note  on  the  fungus 
found  in  the  abdomen  of  the  Cicada;  injuries  to  young  orchards. 

Walsh,  B.D.  and  C.  V.  Riley.— Am.  Ent.,  February,  1809,  Vol.  I,  p.  117. 

Comments  on  the  above. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada.    1st  Rept.  Ins.  Mo.,  March, 

1809,  pp.  18-42. 

General  account  following  Walsh-Riley  article  in  Am.  Ent.  and  incorporating 
facts  on  distribution  of  broods  from  Dr.  Smith's  manuscript,  renumbering 
the  broods  and  increasing  them  to  twenty-two. 

Rathvox,  S.  S. — Hatching  of  the  17-year  Cicada.  Am.  Nat.,  April, 
1809,  vol.  3,  p.  100. 

Walsh,  B.  D.,  and  C.  V.  Riley.— Out  of  evil  there  cometh  good.  Am. 
Ent.,  June,  1809,  Vol.  I,  p.  202. 

Probable  abundance  of  the  fruit  crop  in  southern  Illinois  and  in  Missouri  in 
1869  due  to  the  pruning  of  the  trees  by  Cicada  septendecim  in  1868. 

Walsh,  B.  D.,  and  C.  V.  Riley. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Am.  Ent., 
June,  1809,  Vol.  I,  p.  202. 

Request  for  records  of  appearance  in  1869. 

Walsh,  B.  D.,  and  C.  V.  Riley. — Belated  individuals  of  the  periodical 
Cicada.    Am.  Ent.,  July,  1809,  vol.  I,  p.  217. 

Occurrence  of  scattering  individuals  in  years  before  or  after  their  regular  period. 

Walsh,  B.  D.,  and  C.  V.  Riley.— Eggs  of  periodical  Cicada  in  savin- 
twig.    Am.  Ent .  July,  1809,  Vol.  I,  p.  228. 

Answer  fco  inquiry  of  J.  A.  Greason;  Cicada  septendecim  ovipositing  in  twigs  of 
Junipevus  sabina. 


124  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

Walsh,  B.  D.,  and  0.  V.  Kiley. — The  periodical  Cicada;  our  first  brood 
established.    Am.  Ent.,  August,  18G9,  Vol.  I,  p.  244. 

Appearance  in  Connecticut  of  a  brood  in  1869. 

Walsh,  B.  D.,  and  C.  V.  Kiley. — Insects  named.    Am.  Ent.,  August, 
1869,  Vol.  I,  p.  251. 

Answer  to  inquiry  of  D.  L.  Phares;  irregular  appearance  of  Cicada  tredecim 
( Tibicen  septendecim ) . 

Rathvon,  S.  S. — Cicada  notes.  Am.  Ent.,  November,  1869,  vol.  2,  p.  51. 

Gives  habits  and  appearance. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada  alias  the  17-year  and  13-year 

locust.    Am.  Ent.  and  Bot.,  May,  1870,  p.  211. 

Quotes  from  the  1st  Amu  Rept.  State  Ent.  Mo.,  the  localities  in  which  Cicada 
septendecim  and  Cicada  tredecim  will  appear  in  1870,  with  requests  for  reports  of 
the  occurrence  of  these  insects. 

Kite,  Wm.— The  17-year  Cicada.    Am.  Nat.,  vol.  3, 1870,  p.  106. 
Morris,  John  G. — Seventeen-year  locust  two  years  too  late.  Am.  Ent. 
and  Bot.,  September,  1870,  vol.  2,  p.  304. 

Occurrence  of  a  retarded  Cicada  septendecim  in  Maryland  in  1870;  note  on  the 
year  of  the  appearance  of  the  Cicada  in  York  County,  Pa. 

Walsh,  B.  D.— Am.  Ent.,  October,  1870,  p.  335.    (Posthumous  paper.) 

Argues  for  the  specific  distinctness  of  17  and  13  year  races  as  illustrative  of  a 
general  problem  in  article  "  On  the  Grape  Eurytomides,"  etc. 

Rathvon,  S.  S. — Periodical  Cicada  not  in  Kreutz  Creek  Valley.  Am. 
Ent.  and  Bot.,  December,  1870,  vol.  2,  p.  372. 

Notes  peculiarities  in  local  distribution. 

McCutchen,  A.  E. — Periodical  Cicadas  in  Georgia.    Am.  Ent.  and 
Bot.,  December,  1870,  vol.  2,  p.  372. 

Occurrence  of  in  Georgia  in  1866,  1869,  and  1870. 

Le  Baron,  W. — Locust  or  periodical  Cicada.    Prairie  Farmer,  April 
29,  1871,  vol.  42. 
Natural  history  of. 

Le  Baron,  W. — Prairie  Farmer,  June  3,  1871,  vol.  42. 

Occurrence  of  larvae  of  Cicada  septendecim  in  southern  Illinois. 

Kiley,  C.  V.— Fourth  Eept.  Ins.  Mo.,  April,  1872,  pp.  30-34. 

Gives  the  data  collected  on  the  six  broods  which  had  appeared  since  the  publi- 
cation of  article  in  first  report. 

Dimmock,  G. — Insects  infesting  apple  trees.    No.  1.    New  England 
Homestead,  June  1,  1872,  vol.  5,  No.  4,  p.  25. 

Treats  of  Cicada  septendecim,  etc. 

Dimmock,  G. — Insects  infesting  apple  trees.    No.  4.    New  England 
Homestead,  June  22,  1872,  vol.  5,  No.  7,  p.  49. 

Treats  of  Cicada  (=  Tibicen)  septendecim,  etc. 

Howard,  J.  W. — Phillips'  Southern  Farmer,  October,  1872. 

Reports  the  occurrence  of  the  Cicada  at  Flat  Bayou,  La.,  in  1872. 

Le  Baron,  W.— Second  Kept.  Ins.  Ills.,  1872,  pp.  124-133. 

General  account  from  Harris,  Fitch,  and  Riley. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


125 


Brown,  J.  J. — Coleman's  Eural  World,  January  1,  1873. 

Records  the  appearance  of  the  Cicada  in  northwestern  Arkansas  along  the 
White  River  and  its  tributaries;  traces  them  hack  in  13-year  periods  to  1803. 

Glover,  T. — Report  of  the  entomologist  and  curator  of  the  museum. 
Eept.  (U.  S.)  Comm.  Agric.  for  1872  (1873),  pp.  112-138,  26  figs. 

Appearance  and  ravages  of  Cicada  septendecim. 

Phares,  Dr.  D.  L. — Southern  Field  and  Factory,  Jackson,  Miss., 
April,  1873. 

Refers  to  his  previous  publications  in  the  Republican  on  the  13-year  broods. 

Phares,  Dr.  D.  L.  —  Southern  Field  and  Factory,  Jackson,  Miss., 
August,  1873. 

Records  of  Brood  VI  since  1806;  its  extent  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi. 

Packard,  A.  S. — Third  annual  report  of  the  injurious  and  beneficial 
effects  of  insects  in  Massachusetts.  20th  Ann.  Eept.  Sec.  Mass.  Bd. 
Agric,  1873,  pp.  16-20,  figs.  142, 143. 

Includes  general  account  of  periodical  Cicada. 

Packard,  A.  S. — Am.  Naturalist,  vol.  7,  p.  536,  September,  1873. 

Reprint  with  corrections  of  article  in  Third  Annual  Report. 

Bethune,  G.  J.  S. — Grasshoppers  or  locusts.    Ann.  Eept.  Ent.  Soc. 

Out.  for  1874  (1875),  p.  29,  fig.  30. 

In  article  on  grasshopper  ravages,  etc. ;  discusses  confusion  in  use  of  name 
Locust. 

Riley,  G.  V. — Periodical  Gicad a,  "17-year  locust."  New  York  Semi- 
Weekly  Tribune,  June  23, 1876,  3  figs. 

Occurrence  of  at  Lexington,  Va.,  in  1876;  list  of  localities  at  which  these 
insects  will  appear  this  year;  chronological  history  of  a  hrood;  figures  of  larva, 
pupae,  and  imago. 

Riley,  G.  V. — Entomological  notes.  Trans.  Acad.  Sci.  St.  Louis, 
December,  1877,  vol.  3,  pp.  217,  218 j  see  Am.  Nat.,  October,  1876, 
vol.  10,  p.  635. 

Includes  correction  of  vernacular  name  of  Cicada  septendecim;  occurrence  of 
the  saine  in  Virginia  in  1876;  yearly  development 

Leidy,  Jos. — Remarks  on  the  17-year  locust,  etc.    Proc.  Acad.  Nat. 

Sci.  Phila.,  1877,  pp.  260,  261. 
Riley,  C.  Y. — The  periodical  Gicada.    Western  Farmer's  Almanac  for 

1878  (1877),  p.  48;  Oolman's  Rural  World,  November  28,  1877. 

Popular  description  and  natural  history;  chronology  of  twenty-two  different 
broods. 

Osborn,  H. — The  17-year  locust.    Western  Farm  Journal,  July,  1878. 

General  account  of  natural  history. 

Bessey,  G.  E. — Iowa  Weather  Bulletin,  November,  1878. 

Gives  an  account  of  the  distribution  of  the  Cicada  in  Iowa,  illustrated  by  a 
State  map. 

Osborn,  H. — Report  of  noxious  insects.  Trans.  Iowa  State  Hortic. 
Soc.  for  1878  (1879),  vol.  13,  pp.  368-402. 

Includes  habits  and  natural  history  of  Cicada  septendecim. 


126 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Peck,  0.  H. — Thirty-first  Kept.  N.  Y.  State  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  1879  pp. 

19,  20,  and  44. 

Description  of  Cicada  fungous  parasites  as  Massospora  cicadina. 
Streoker,  Hermann. — The  Cicada  in  Texas.    Science  News,  Vol.  I, 

No.  16, 1879,  p.  256. 
Riley,  G.  V. — New  York  Tribune,  1879;  Column's  Rural  World,  June 

25,  1879. 

Boundaries  of  the  areas  in  which  Cicada  septendecim  is  expected  to  occur  iu 
1879;  request  for  information  of  its  appearance. 

Osborn,  H. — Seventeen  year  locusts.    College  Quarterly,  September, 

1879,  vol.  2,  p.  58. 

Occurrence  of  in  southwestern  Iowa  in  1879. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  17-year  Cicada  in  Iowa.    Am.  Ent,  February, 

1880,  vol.  3  (n.  s.,  Vol.  I),  pp.  25, 20. 

Review  of  the  above;  limits  of  the  broods  of  1854-1871,  1861-1878,  and 
1862-1879  in  Iowa;  occurrence  of  the  last  brood  in  Missouri;  comparison  of  the 
distribution  of  these  broods  with  the  distribution  of  timber  trees. 

Bessey,  C.  E. — On  the  distribution  of  the  17-year  Cicada  of  the  brood 

of  1878,  or  Riley's  Brood  XIII,  in  Iowa.    Am.  Ent.,  February,  1880, 

vol.  3  (n.  s.,  Vol.  I),  pp.  27-30,  fig.  7. 

Summary  of  replies  to  inquiries  concerning  distribution  in  Iowa  in  1878  with 
map. 

Chambers,  V.  T.— Am.  Ent.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  77,  March,  1880. 

Occurrence  of  in  Cheyenne  Canyon,  Colorado,  in  1876. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Fungus  in  Cicada.    Am.  Ent.,  June,  1880,  vol.  3  (n.  s., 
Vol.  I),  p.  14. 

Notice  of  the  above. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Am.  Ent.,  July,  1880,  vol.  3,  (n.  s., 
Vol.  I),  pp.  172,173,  fig.  70. 
Broods  which  appear  in  1880. 

Robinson,  F.  C. — Seventeen-year  Cicada  in  Pennsylvania.    Am.  Ent, 
July,  1880,  vol.  3  (n.  s.,  Vol.  I),  p.  178. 

Occurrence  of  at  Uniontown,  Pa.,  in  1880. 

Barnes,  Harley. — Periodical  Cicada  in  Geauga  County,  Ohio.  Am. 
Ent.,  September,  1880,  vol.  3  (n.  s.,  Vol.  I),  p.  226. 
Abundance  of  in  western  Ohio. 
Barnes,  H. — Seventeen-year  Cicada  in  Ohio.    Am.  Eut.,  September, 
1880,  vol.  3  (n.  s.,  Vol.  I),  pp.  227,  228. 
Seasons  and  injuries. 
Riley,  C.  V.— Bull.  0  U.  S.  Ent.  Comm.,  March,  1881,  p.  58. 

Orthography  of  name;  quotes  Walsh  as  to  validity  of  tredecim  as  true  species. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada  alias  u  17-year  locust."  Am.  Ent., 

June  (May  19),  1881,  v.  25,  pp.  479-482,  fig.  1.    Correction  ibid.,  July 

(June  22),  1881,  p.  578. 

Extract  from  First  Missouri  Report,  with  additional  notes;  figures,  eggs, 
pupte,  imago,  and  punctured  twig. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


127 


RlLEY,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada  alias  "  17-year  locust."  Farmer's 
Review,  June  1G.  1881.  vol.  6,  p.  370. 

Extract  from  First  Missouri  Report,  with  additional  notes  and  requests  for 
further  information  in  regard  to  distribution  of  the  broods  which  appear  in 
1881. 

 .— Sci.  Amer.,  vol.  45,  p.  21,  July  9.  1881. 

Records  the  appearance  of  the  Cicada  in  southern  Illinois.  Kentucky.  Arkan- 
sas, and  Mobile.  Ala.,  in  that  year. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Selma.  Ala.,  Times.  July  19,  1881,  Cicada  tredecim:  abun- 
dant in  Alabama,  as  predicted. 

Riley?  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Am.  Agric.  August,  1881,  vol. 
40.  p.  132.  5  figs. 

Brief  sketch  of  the  natural  history  with  figures. 

Lintner,  J.  A.— The  17-year  locust.    Ontario  County  Times.  July  12. 

1882,  vol.  28.  p.  3. 

Years  of  appearance  during  the  present  half  century;  broods  in  Xew  York; 
injuries  aud  preventives. 

Riley,  C.  Y. — Cicada  septendecim.  Gardener's  Mo.  and  Hortic.  Sep- 
tember, 1882,  vol.  24.  pp.  274,  275. 

Orthography  of  the  names  Cicada  tredecim  and  Cicada  septendecim:  dimorphic 
forms;  Massospora  cicadina  parasitic  on  Cicada. 

Osboen,  H. — Insects  of  the  forest — Cicada  septendecim.  Iowa  State 
Leader.  December  2, 1882. 

Food  habits  of  Cicada  septendecim;  life  history. 
Riley,  C.  Y.— Am.  Nat.,  March  (February  21  .  1883,  vol.  17.  p.  322. 

Instinct  of  Cicada  and  sense  direction  in  insects. 
Saunders.  Wm. — Ins.  Inj.  to  Fruits.  1883,  pp.  35-39. 

General  account  of  the  species. 

Bessey.  C.  E. — The  periodical  Cicada  in  southeastern  Massachusetts. 
Am.  Xat.,  October  (September  17),  1883.  vol.  17,  p.  1071. 

Abundant  in  June,  1883.  in  Marthas  Vineyard;  notes  by  C.  Y.  Riley. 

Osborn,  H. — Insects  of  the  orchard.  Bull.  Iowa  Auric.  College, 
August.  1884.  Xo.  2,  pp.  87-97.  Trans.  Iowa  State  Hortic.  Soc.  for 
1883  (1884),  vol.  18,  pp.  510-521. 

Includes  reference  to  periodical  Cicada. 

Uhler,  P.  B. — Cassino's  Stand.  Nat.  Hist..  II.  1884.  p.  227. 

Natural  history  and  distribution. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Destroying  Cicadas.    Rural  Xew  Yorker.  May  23,  1885. 

vol.  44,  p.  353. 

Reply  to  letter  of  J.  A.  K. 
Riley.  0.  V.— Expected  advent  of  the  locust.    Sci.  Am..  May  23. 1886. 

vol.  52,  p.  320.     Farmer's  Home  Journ.,  June  13,  1885.  Orange 

County  (X.  Y.)  Farmer.  May  28,  1885.     See  Sci.  Am..  June  20,  1885. 

vol.  52,  p.  389. 

Simultaneous  appearance  of  a  17-year  and  a  13-year  brood:  localities  of  the 
two  broods;  life  history  and  habits. 

20110— Xo.  14—9 


128 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Weed.  C.  M. — The  coming  locust  plague.  Prairie  Farmer,  May  23, 
1885,  vol.  57,  p.  329. 

Notes  on  Cicada  septt  ndccim. 

Eiley.  C.  V. — The  periodical  or  17-year  Cicada.  Harper's  Weekly, 
June  6.  1885,  vol.  29.  p.  3G3.  4  figs. 

Distribution  of  Brood  XXII  and  of  Brood  VII:  habits,  enemies,  etc. 

Eiley.  C.  V. — The  periodical  or  17-year  Cicada.  Am.  Grange  Bulletin, 
June  11.  1885. 

Chronological  record,  natural  history,  and  popular  names. 

WARD,  Lester  F. — Premature  appearance  of  the  periodical  Cicada. 

Science.  Vol.  V.  Xo.  123.  June  12,  1885,  p.  470. 
PiiLEY.  0.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada.    An  account  of  Cicada  septende 

dm  and  its  tredeeim  race,  with  a  chronology  of  all  broods  known. 

Bull.  Xo.  8,  Div.  Ent..  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.  (June  17),  1885, 16  pp.,  8  figs. 

Second  edition.  July  13. 1885. 
Weed,  0.  M. — The  17-year  locust.    Prairie  Farmer,  June  20,  1885, 

vol.  57.  p.  393. 

Brief  account  of  the  habits,  etc. 

Eiley,  C.  V.— Notes  on  the  periodical  Cicada.  Science,  June  26. 1885, 
vol.  5,  pp.  518-521.  Reprint:  Sci.  Amer.  Suppl.,  June  27,  1885.  vol. 
19,  pp.  7905.  7906. 

Distribution  of  Brood  XXII  and  of  Brood  VII  in  1885;  life  history,  etc. 

Kiley.  0.  V. — Periodical  Cicada  in  Massachusetts.    Science,  July  3, 
1885,  vol.  6.  p.  1. 

The  occurrence  of  in  southeastern  Massachusetts  needs  confirmation. 

Kiley,  O.  V. — The  influence  of  climate  on  Cicada  scptcndccim.  Ent. 

Am..  August,  1885,  Vol.  I,  p.  91. 

Records  the  transfers  of  eggs  of  Brood  XXII  to  the  extreme  Southern  States 
where  no  septendecim  brood  is  known  to  occur  and  of  Brood  VII  to  Xorthcrn 
States  where  no  tredeeim  brood  is  known  to  occur. 

Davis,  Wm.  T. — The  periodical  Cicada  on  Staten  Island.  Ent.  Am., 
Vol.  I.  August.  1885.  No.  5,  p.  91. 

Klley.  C.  V. — The  song-notes  of  the  periodical  Cicada.  Science,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1885.  vol.  6.  pp.  261.265.  Reprint,  with  additions:  Proc. 
Am.  Assoc.  Adv.  Sci.  for  1885,  August.  1886,  vol.  34,  pp.  330-332. 
Translation:  Stett.  Ent.  Zeit.,  1886,  Jahrg.  47,  pp.  158-160.  See: 
Science.  September  11,  1885,  vol.  6.  p.  225.  Kansas  City  Eeview, 
October.  1885.  p.  171. 

Description  of  the  three  prevalent  notes. 

Lintxee.  J.  A. — The  13-year  Cicada.  Argus  (Albany),  October  11, 
1885,  p.  4. 

Notice  of  the  life  history. 

Hathaway,  G.  H.— Sc.  American.    1885  ( ?) 

Gives  records  of  Brood  I  for  1818-1869.  (See  Bull.  8,  Div.  Entomology,  U.  S. 
Dept.  Agriculture,  p.  18.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


129 


Lintner,  J.  A. — The  17 -year  locust,  etc.  Second  report  on  the  inju- 
rious and  other  insects  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Albany,  1885 
(February,  1886),  pp.  167-179,  figs.  13-47. 

Brief  bibliography  and  general  account  of  the  species,  with  special  reference 
to  the  broods  occurring  in  New  Vork. 

Xewbeery,  J.  S. — Turrets  of  periodical  Cicada  in  a  cellar.  From 
School  of  Mines  Quarterly,  Science,  Vol.  VII,  March  12. 1886. 

Howard,  L.  O.— Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Wash.,  I,  June  1.  1885  (March  31,1886  . 
p.  29. 

Edibility  of. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada,  etc.  Report  of  the  Eutomologist 
Ann.  Rept.  U.  S.  Commissioner  Agric.  for  1885  (1886),  pp.  233-258, 
1  map,  2  pi.,  Separate:  Washington,  June  8,  1886,  pp.  27-52. 

Reproduction  and  revision  of  Bull.  8,  with  important  additions,  map  and 
plates. 

Butler,  A.  W. — The  periodical  Cicada  in  southeastern  Indiana.  Bull. 
Kb.  12,  Div.  Ent.,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.    (July  13),  1886,  pp.  21-31. 

Contains  many  interesting  observations  on  habits,  enemies  of,  etc. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Some  popular  fallacies  and  some  new  facts  regarding 

Cicada  septendeeim  L.    Proc.  Am.  Assoc.  Adv.  Sci.  for  1885  (August), 

1886,  vol.  31,  p.  334. 

Variety  cassinii  is  not  the  race  tredecim;  twigs  with  eggs  do  not  necessarily 
break  off  or  die  to  insure  the  hatching  of  the  larva. 

Apgar,  E.  A. — Some  observations  on  the  anatomy  of  Cicada  septen- 
deeim.   Journal  Trenton  Xat.  Hist.  Soc,  January.  1887,  pp.  43-16. 
Mechanism  of  the  genitalia. 

Lintner,  J.  A. — The  17-year  locust,  Cicada  septendeeim.  The  Owl, 
May,  1887,  vol.  2,  pp.  17-19,  figs.  1-5. 

Life  history. 

Lintner,  J.  A. — An  experiment  with  the  13-year  Cicada.  Report  of 
the  State  Entomologist  to  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State 
of  New  York  for  the  year  1885.  39th  Ann.  Rept.  State  Mus.  Nat. 
Hist,  for  1885  (July  6),  1887,  pp.  Ill,  112. 

Planting  of  eggs  of  a  13-year  brood  in  New  York. 

Rockwood,  C.  G.,  Jr. — An  insect  fight.    Science,  vol.  10,  No.  237, 

August  19,  1887,  p.  94.    (Stizus  and  Cicada.) 
Schwarz,  E.  A. — Cicadas  at  Fortress  Monroe  in  June,  1886.  Proc. 

Ent.  Soc.  Wash.,  Vol.  I,  July  8,  1886  (March,  1888),  p.  52. 
VVoodworth,  C.  W. — Synopsis  of  North  American  Cicadidse.  Psyche, 

Vol.  V,  June  1888,  pp.  67,  68. 

Tables  for  determining  genera  and  species. 

Alexander,  A.  G. — After-effect  of  the  oviposition  of  the  periodical 
Cicada.    Insect  Life,  Vol.  I,  July,  1888,  p.  15. 

Tells  of  injury  to  apple  trees  by  falling  of  fruit. 


130 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Riley,  C.  V.,  and  Howard,  L.  O.— The  periodical  Cicada  in  1888. 
Insect  Life,  Vol.  I,  July,  1888,  p.  31. 

Appearances  of  Brood  V,  aepteitdecim,  and  Brood  X,  tredecim,  this  year. 

McNeal,  J. — Insect  Life,  Vol.  I,  1888,  p.  50. 
Notes  precursors  of  Brood  V  in  1888. 

Weed,  C.  M. — Cicadas  or  harvest  flies  and  beetles.     Pop.  Card., 

November,  1888,  p.  45,  1  fig. 
March,  J. — Wisconsin  letter  on  Cicada  septendecim.    Insect  Life,  Vol. 

I,  January,  1889,  p.  218. 

Brief  note  on  their  habits,  food,  and  enemies. 

Riley,  C.  V.,  and  Howard,  L.  O.— The  periodical  Cicada  in  1889. 
Insect  Life,  Vol.  I,  April,  1889,  p.  298. 

Localities  of  expected  appearance  of  Brood  VIII,  sei>icndecim,  in  this  year. 

Osborn,  H. — Notes  on  destructive  insects.  Ann.  Kept.  Iowa  State 
Agric.  Soc.  for  1888  (1889),  pp.  670-680. 

Contains  a  brief  general  article  on  the  17-year  Cieada. 
Muktfeldt,  M.  E. — Rept.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.  1888  (1889),  p.  135. 

Trees  killed  in  Illinois. 

Lintner,  J.  A. — An  experiment  with  the  13  year  Cicada.  Fifth  Kept, 
on  the  Injur,  and  other  Insects  of  the  State  of  N.  Y.,  1889,  pp.  276- 
278. 

The  planting  of  eggs  for  experiment. 

Smith,  J.  B. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Garden  and  Forest,  1889,  p.  436. 

Localities  in  New  Jersey  for  Broods  VIII,  XII,  XVII,  and  XXII. 

Webster,  F.  M. — An  early  occurrence  of  the  periodical  Cicada. 
Insect  Life,  II,  November,  1889,  pp.  161, 162. 

Smith,  John  B. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Ann.  Kept,  of  the  Entomolo- 
gist [New  Jersey]  for  1889,  p.  270. 

On  Brood  VIII  and  other  New  Jersey  broods. 

Buckhout,  Wm!  A. — The  periodical  Cicada  in  Pennsylvania.  Report 
Penna.  Agric.  Expt.  Sta.  for  1889  (1890),  pp.  182-187,  1  map. 
Distribution  of  broods  in  the  State. 

Schwarz,  E.  A. — Notes  on  Cicada  septendecim  in  1889.  Proc.  Ent. 
Soc.  Washington,  Vol.  I,  pp.  230,  231  (May,  1890). 

New  localities  in  1889  of  Brood  VIII ;  local  distribution  and  reasons  for  aceel- 
erations,  etc. 

Packard,  A.  S. — Insects  injurious  to  forest  and  shade  trees.  Fiftn 
Kept.  U.  S.  Ent.  Com.,  Washington,  1890,  pp.  95-97. 

A  general  account. 

Riley,  C.  V.— Periodical  locusts.    Sci.  Anier.,  May  16,  1891,  p.  313. 
Lewis,  R.  T. — The  song  of  the  Cicada  is  appreciated  and  listened  to 

by  other  insects.    Nature  News,  August,  1891,  abstracted  in  Nature, 

44,  No.  1140,  September  3,  1891,  p.  437. 
Kohl,  W.  M. — Seventeen-year  locust.    Farmer's  Review,  November  4, 

1891,  p.  700. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


131 


Lintner,  J.  A. — Cicada  septendecim  Linn.  The  periodical  Cicada. 
Seventh  Rept.  on  the  Injur,  and  other  Insects  of  the  State  of  N.  Y., 
1891,  pp.  296-301. 

Additions  to  the  bibliography  and  account  of  a  new  or  unknown  brood. 

Lintner,  J.  A. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Count.  Geutl.,  March  23, 1893, 
p.  226. 

Reply  to  inquiries  that  it  will  not  be  a  locust  year  in  New  Jersey  or  New  York. 

Riley,  C.  V.— Circular  Div.  Eut.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  June,  1893. 

Localities  for  Brood?.  XVI  (tredecim)  and  XI  {septendecim))  request  for  con- 
firmations, etc. 

Riley,  C.  V.,  and  Howard,  L.  O. — The  present  year's  appearance  of 
the  periodical  Cicada.    Insect  Life,  Vol.  V,  July,  1893,  pp.  298-300. 

Localities  for  Brood  XVI,  tredecim,  and  Brood  XI,  septendecim,  in  this  year. 

Slingerland,  M.  V. — The  "  17-year  locust'7  in  its  hole.  Rural  New 
Yorker,  July  29,  1893,  p.  509. 

Life  history  and  habits. 

Riley,  C.  V. — Periodical  Cicada.    Science,  August  18,  1893,  p.  86. 

Localities  for  Brood  XVI,  tredecim,  and  Brood  XI,  septendecim,  in  1893. 

Osborn,  H. — Trans.  Iowa  State  Hort,  Soc,  1892  (1893). 
Brief  account. 

McCarthy,  G.— The  periodical  Cicada.    Bull.  No.  92,  N.  C.  Agric. 
Exp.  St.,  August,  1893,  pp.  108,  109,  1  fig. 
Brief  account. 

Smith,  J.  B. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Bull.  No.  95,  N.  J.  Agric.  Exp. 
Sta,,  September,  1893,  pp.  6, 1  fig. 

The  expected  appearance  of  Brood  XII  in  the  next  year  in  New  Jersey. 

Riley,  C.  V.— Circular  Div.  Ent.  U,  S.  Dept.  Agric,  May  5, 1894,  pp.  4. 

Gives  distribution  by  counties  of  Broods  XVIII  and  XII,  and  asks  for 
confirmations. 

Slingerland,  M.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada  or  locust.  The  Farmer's 
Advocate,  June  1,  1894,  p.  225. 

Brief  account,  and  the  broods  that  will  appear  in  1894. 

Davis,  Wm.  T. — The  17-year  locust  on  Staten  Island.    Proc.  Nat.  Sci. 

Assn.  Staten  Island,  IV,  No.  4,  February  10,  1894,  pp.  13-15. 
Davis,  W.  T.— The  17-year  Cicada  on  Staten  Island.   Jouru.  N.  Y.  Ent. 

Soc,  II,  No.  1,  March,  1894,  pp.  38,  39. 
Records  of  Cicadas  observed  since  1877. 

Davis,  Wm.  T.— The  harvest  Hies  (Cicada)  of  Staten  Island,  N.  Y. 
Amer.  Nat.,  28,  No.  328,  April,  1894,  pp.  363,  3G4. 

Various  notes  on  Cicada  tihicen  L.  song,  time  of  appearance,  and  capture  of 
C.  marginata. 

Riley,  C.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada.    Rept.  of  Ent.  in  Ann.  Kept. 
U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  1893  (1894),  pp.  204,  205. 
Records  of  broods  for  1893. 


132 


THE  PERIODIC  AL  CICADA. 


Davis.  W.  T. — The  17  year  locust  on  Staten  Island.    Amer.  Xat..  28, 

No.  320.  May.  1804,  p.  452. 
Cicada  observed  since  1*77. 
Smith.  J.  B. — The  periodical  Cicada.    Entom.  yews.  May.  1894.  Vol. 

V.  p.  145. 

Noth-e  of  the  brood  to  appear  in  1*94.  and  the  relation  of  the  English  >parrow 

to  this  insect. 

Lintxer.  J.  A. — The  periodical  Cicada,  or  the  17-year  locust.  Circular, 
Albany.  ET.  Y..  June  19. 1894,  p.  4. 

Habits,  turrets,  questions  regarding  the  present  appearance. 

Slen"  gee  land,  M.  V. — The  periodical  Cicada,  or  17-year  locust.  Rural 
Xew  Yorker.  July  28.  1804.  p.  470:  August  4. 1804.  p.  488. 

General  popular  account,  habits,  and  broods. 

Davis.  \Y.  T.— The  17-year  locust  on  Staten  Island  in  1894.  Proc. 
Sat.  Sci.  Assn.  of  Staten  Island.  Yol.  IY.  Xo.  9.  September.  1894.  pp. 

33-35. 

Shueeldt.  E.  W. — The  17-year  Cicada  and  some  of  its  allies.  Popular 
Science  Xews.  Yol.  XXYIII,  October  10,  1894.  pp.  154. 155. 

Lander.  B. — Hut-building  17-year  Cicadas.  Sci.  Amer..  October  13, 
1894. 

Full  account  of.  with  explanations  and  figure. 

Smith.  J.  B. — Insect  Lite.  VoL  YII.  October,  1894.  pp.  192-195. 

Under  ••Notes  of  the  year  in  New  Jersey,'"  gives  distribution  of  Cicada  in 
1894  in  that  State. 

Keom.  O.  S. — The  hut-building  Cicada.  Sci.  Amer  .  November  10, 
1894,  p.  1*95. 

Criticises  theories  of  Mr.  Lander,  and  suggests  other  explanations. 

Lantjee.  B. — Cicada  hut-builders.  Sci.  Amer..  November  24,  1894, 
p.  327. 

Replies  to  Mr.  Krom.  and  gives  additional  proof  in  support  of  his  (Landers) 
point  of  view. 

Smith.  J.  B. — The  periodical  Cicada.  Kept.  Entom..  Ann.  Rept.  X.  J. 
Agiic.  Exper.  St..  1894.  pp.  582-591.  figs.  52-57. 

General  articles  relating  especially  to  Brood  XII  in  New  Jersey;  Cicada  towers 

discussed. 

Lander.  Benjamtn. — Domed  burrows  of  Cicada  sejrtendecim,  Journ. 

X.  Y.  Ent.  So«-..  III.  March  1.  1895,  pp.  33-38,  plate. 
Love.  E.  G. — Notes  on  the  17-year  Cicada,  Cicada  septmdecim,  Journal 

X.  Y.  Microsc.  Soc.  XI,  April  2. 1895.  pp.  37-40.  plate  49. 

Original  observations  on  structural  details,  the  turrets,  etc. 

Maelatt.  C.  L. — The  Hemipterous  mouth.    Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Wash., 

Yol.  II L  No.  4.  pp.  241-249,  June  22,  1895,  figs.  21-23. 

Detailed  study  of  the  hernipterons  month  from  dissection  of  the  periodical 
Cicada. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


133 


Lintner,  J.  A. — The  17 -year  locust  iii  the  State  of  New  York  in  1894. 
10th  Kept.  Inj.  and  other  Ins.  X.  Y.    From  18th  Eept.  IT.  Y.  State 
Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  1895,  pp.  120-125,  2  tigs. 
Quotes  circular  isee  above)  and  gives  the  results. 

McCarthy,  G— Bull.  No,  120,  X.  Car.  Agric.  Exp.  Sta.,  November. 
1895. 

Contains  brief  notice  of  Cicada. 

Osborn,  Herbert. — Observations  on  the  Cicada1  of  Iowa.  Proc. 

Iowa  Acad.  Sc.,  Ill,  1895  (1896),  p.  194-203.    Cicada  septendecim. 
Slingerland,  M.  V. — The  apple  crop  and  17-year  locusts.    Rural  New 

Yorker,  January  25,  1896.  p.  53. 

Doubts  that  the  Cicada  has  any  iuduence  on  the  crop. 

Hyatt,  J.  D. — Cicada  sejrtcndecim;  its  mouth  parts,  and  terminal 
armor.    Am.  Mo.  Mic.  Journ.,  February  17,  1896,  p.  16. 

Mouth  parts  and  ovipositor  of  the  Cicada;  method  of  oviposition  lillns.). 

Slingerland,  M.  Y. — On  what  do  17-year  Cicadas  live  ■  Rural  New 
Yorker,  May  23,  1896,  p.  351. 

Food  habits  of  Cicada. 

Bruner,  L. — Seventeen-year  locusts.  Nebraska  Srate  Journal,  June 
19,  1896. 

Slingerland,  M.  y. — Seventeen-year  locusts  not  poisonous.  Fairal 
New  Yorker,  July  11,  1896.  p.  164. 

Food  habits  of  Cicada. 

Schwarz,  E.  A.— The  periodical  Cicada  in  1897.  Cir.  No.  22  (2nd  ser.), 
Div.  Ent,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  May.  1897.  pp.  4. 

Localities  for  Brood  XV.  septendccim.  and  Brood  VI.  tndeeim,  in  1897. 

Webster,  F.  M. — The  17-year  locust  in  Ohio.  Ohio  Farmer,  May  20, 
1897,  p.  40,  1  map. 

Expected  occurrence  in  the  State. 

Slingerland,  M.  Y. — Do  17-year  locusts  damage  fruit  trees?  Rural 
New  Yorker,  July  3,  1897,  p.  437. 

Damage  not  of  great  importance. 

Webster,  F.  M. — Brood  NY  of  Cicada  sejrtendccim  in  Ohio.  Can. 
Ent.,  October,  1897,  pp.  225-229. 

Distribution  of  Brood  XV  iu  Ohio  iu  1897. 

Webster,  F.  M. — The  periodical  Cicada,  or  so-called  17-year  locust  in 
Ohio.  Bull.  No.  87,  Ohio  Agric.  Exp.  Sta.,  November.  1897,  pp.  37-68, 
11  tigs. 

Distribution  in  Ohio,  habits,  natural  enemies,  etc. 
Hopkins,  A.  D. — The  periodical  Cicada  in  West  Yirgiina.    Bull.  50. 
West  Ya.  Agric.  Expr.  St.,  January  |  April  ),  1898. 

Full  illustrated  account  of  Brood  XV  iu  lSi>7. 

Schwarz,  E.  xV.~ The  periodical  Cicada  in  1898,  Circular  No.  30  2d 
ser.),  Div.  Ent.,  V.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  April.  1S98,  pp.  4. 

Location  of  Brood  VII,  trednim,  and  Brood  XVII.  sej)tendecim,  iu  ISi'S. 


134  THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 

Howard,  L.  O. — A  new  egg-parasite  of  the  periodical  Cicada.  Can. 
Ent.,  Vol.  XXX,  pp.  102, 103,  April,  1898. 

Description  of  Lathromeris  cicudtr,  new  species. 

Lintner,  J.  A. — The  periodical  Cicada,  12th  Ann.  Rep.  State  Entom., 
New  York,  189G.    (May,  1898),  pp.  272-289,  Pis.  1X-XIII. 

Gives  additions  to  bibliography,  a  general  account  of  insect,  with  original 
observations  on  habits,  and  especially  on  the  Cicada  chambers,  chielly  based  on 
Brood  XII  in  1894. 


APPENDIX  A. 


EGG  TRANSFERS,  BROODS  VII  AND  XXII,  1885. 

The  following  is  Professor  Biley's  description  of  the  transfers  made 
in  1885.    (See  Kept.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.  1885  (June,  1886),  pp.  255-257.) 


BROOD  VII  (Tredecinn. 


Date. 

Eggs  received  from— 

Eggs  sent  to— 

1885. 

July 

6 

W.  L.  Peters,  Senatobia,  Miss  

J.  H.  Comstock,  Ithaca,  X.  Y. 

1 

P.  H.  Skipwith,  Oxford,  Miss  

J.  A.  Lintner.  Albany,  X.  Y. 

13 

J.  G.  Barlow.  Cadet,  Mo  

H.  Osborn,  Ames,  Iowa. 

13 

P.  H.  Skipwith,  Oxford.  Miss  

Samuel  Hensbaw,  Boston,  Mass. 

13 

 do  

R.  Tbaxter.  Kittery  Point,  Me. 

13 

 do  

A.  S.  Packard.  Brunswick,  Me. 

17 

W.  L.  Peters.  Senatobia,  Miss  

J.  H.  Comstock.  Itbaca,  X.  Y. 

17 

 do  

J.  A.  Lintner.  Albany.  X.  Y. 

17 

 do  

Samuel  Hensbaw,  Boston.  Mass. 

17 

 do  

R.  Tbaxter.  Kittery  Point,  Me. 

17 

 do  

A.  S.  Packard.  Brunswick,  Me. 

BROOD  XXII  (Septendecim) . 

July 

6 

F.  M.  Webster,  Lafayette,  Ind   

G.  Xoble,  Savannah,  Ga. 

6 

 do  

J.  E.  Willet,  Macon.  Ga. 

11 

E.  Reeder,  New  Hope.  Pa  

D.  L.  Phares.  Agricultural  College,  Miss. 

11 

F.  M.  Webster.  Lafayette,  Ind  

E.  A.  Smith,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 

15 

E.  W.  Allis,  Adrian,  Mieb  

R.  W.  Jones.  Columbus,  Miss. 

15 

 do  

G.  Xoble.  Savannah.  Ga. 

15 

 do  

J.  E.  Willet.  Macon,  Ga. 

15 

 do  

B.  H.  Hardaway,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 

15 

 do  

D.  L.  Phares.  Agi-icultural  College.  Miss. 

21 

 do  

Charles  Mohr,  Mobile.  Ala. 

21 

 do  

Miss  M.  E.  Murtfeldt.  Kirkwood,  Mo. 

21 

 do  

G.  Xoble.  Savannah,  Ga. 

21 

 do  

J.  E.  Willet.  Macon.  Ga. 

21 

 do  

D.L.  Phares,  Agricultural  College.  Miss. 

21 

 do  

E.  A.  Smith,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 

21 

 do  

R.  W.  Jones.  Columbus.  Miss. 

21 

 do  

J.  D.  Wilkins.  Selma.  Ala. 

The  requests  made  of  eacli  of  these  correspondents  were:  To  select  a 
spot  where  the  Cicada  has  not  been  seen  the  present  year;  to  take  an 
isolated  tree  (preferably  in  an  orchard),  which  is  not  likely  to  be  dis- 
turbed during  the  next  seYenteen  (or  thirteen)  years,  and  to  mark  it 
plainly  with  a  zinc  label.  The  twigs  were  to  be  placed  around  the  base 
of  the  tree,  and  watched  at  intervals  until  the  eggs  had  hatched.  We 

135 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


advised  that  a  few  twigs  be  retained  in  some  vessel,  so  that  hatching 
could  he  absolutely  proved,  and  that  a  record  be  made  of  the  facts  in 
the  case  and  published  in  the  local  paper  or  elsewhere.  We  also 
strongly  urged  the  importance  of  exactness  in  this  record,  as  the  suc- 
cess of  the  experiment  would  largely  depend  upon  such  exactness. 

The  eggs  sent  to  Prof.  J.  H.  Comstock,  at  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  hatched 
well,  and  the  twigs  were  placed,  July  10, 1885,  " under  the  large  hickory 
tree  which  stands  midway  in  the  row  of  elms  on  the  north  side  of  the 
avenue  leading  from  Morrill  Hall  to  the  residence  of  President  White. 
*  *  *  It  is  the  only  hickory  tree  in  the  row.  It  is  the  ninth  tree 
east  of  University  avenue  and  the  ninth  tree  west  of  the  President's 
avenue."  Specimens  were  placed  in  the  permanent  collection  of  Cor- 
nell University  at  Ithaca  under  the  number  181,  sub.  2,  with  conspicu- 
ous label,  "Read  in  1898,"  and  a  folded  label  with  details. 

Those  sent  to  Dr.  J.  A.  Lintner,  at  Albany,  X.  Y.,  were  placed  in  the 
orchard  of  Mr.  Erastus  Corning,  at  Kenwood.  "The  tree  beneath 
which  the  eggs  were  planted  (they  were  hatching  when  the  twigs  were 
placed  about  the  base  of  the  tree  and  tied  to  its  branches)  was  marked 
with  a  zinc  label,  bearing  this  inscription:  'Thirteen-year  brood  of 
Cicada  (Riley's  brood  No.  VII)  j  eggs  from  Oxford,  Miss.,  planted  July 
4,  1885.'  Additional  eggs  from  a  second  sending  were  placed  under 
the  same  tree  on  July  21,  and  also  some  in  a  wood  adjoining,  a  few  rods 
to  the  south,  to  serve  as  a  food  supply  in  the  event  of  the  death  or 
destruction  of  the  orchard."  In  the  planting  Dr.  Lintner  was  assisted 
by  Mr.  William  Grey,  gardener  of  Mr.  Erastus  Corning,  who  was 
requested  to  communicate  to  others  on  the  farm  the  exact  location  of 
the  tree. 

The  twigs  sent  to  Prof.  Herbert  Osborn,  at  Ames,  Iowa,  were  depos- 
ited by  him  under  two  trees  on  the  college  farm,  which  may  be  described 
as  follows :  First,  an  apple  tree  standing  directly  east  from  the  house 
occupied  by  Dr.  B.  D.  Halstead  and  north  of  the  house  occupied  by 
Professor  Osborn,  the  farthest  to  the  south  of  the  group  of  apple  trees 
standing  in  that  part  of  the  grounds ;  second,  an  elm  tree  standing  25 
yards  directly  south  from  the  house  in  which  Professor  Osborn  is 
living.  This  house  stands  a  little  south  of  midway  between  the  "Farm 
House"  and  "South  Hall,"  on  the  east  road  between  those  two  build- 
ings, or  the  farthest  from  the  main  college  building  in  an  east  southeast 
direction.  The  apple  tree  is  south  southwest  from  the  farm  house  and 
east  southeast  from  the  main  college  building.  On  each  of  the  trees  is 
hung  a  zinc  label  with  the  inscription:  "Twigs  from  Cadet,  Mo.,  con- 
taining eggs  of  thirteen-year  Cicada,  were  placed  under  this  tree  July 
21,  1885." 

The  eggs  sent  to  Mr.  Samuel  Henshaw,  Boston,  Mass.,  were  placed 
about  two  apple  trees  in  an  orchard  owned  by  Prof.  Alpheus  Hyatt,  at 
Annisquam  (part  of  Gloucester),  Essex  County,  Mass.  The  trees  in 
question  are  the  two  opposite  the  southwest  corner  of  the  barn. 


EGG  TRANSFERS,  BROODS  VII  AND  XXII,  lss.". 


137 


The  three  lots  of  eggs  sent  to  Mr.  George  Xoble,  Savannah,  Ga..  were 
received  by  hiin  in  good  condition,  and  hatched  perfectly.  They  were 
placed  under  certain  cherry  trees,  each  marked  with  a  zinc  label, 
on  the  farm  known  as  Reiser's,"  li  miles  southeast  from  the  city 
exchange. 

The  twigs  sent  to  Prof.  J.  E.  Willet,  at  Macon,  Ga.,  were  deposited 
in  the  Central  Park,  in  Macon,  as  follows:  The  twigs  from  Indiana 
were  deposited  at  the  base  of  three  trees  ;  first,  a  small  elm  just  within 
the  half-mile  track,  about  lOO.yards  eastward  of  the  turn  of  the  track 
nearest  the  main  entrance;  second,  a  tine  hickory  on  the  bluff  of  the 
river,  about  opposite  the  middle  of  the  track:  and  third,  a  sweet  gum 
on  the  bluff",  about  100  feet  southeast  of  the  hickory.  These  three  trees 
have  each  a  zinc  label  with  the  legend,  "XVII-year  Cicada.  Indiana. 
1885V98-1902."  The  twigs  from  Michigan  were  deposited  at  the  base 
of  a  sweet  gum  at  the  north  end  of  the  editors  home.  The  zinc  label 
on  this  tree  bears  the  legend,  u  XVTI  year  Cicada.  Mich.,  1885-98-1901V 

Dr.  D.  L.  Phares.  of  Agricultural  College.  Oktibbeha  County,  Miss., 
deposited  the  first  twigs  sent  to  him  on  the  ground  under  the  base  of  a 
hickory  tree  standing  6  feet,  a  little  south  of  east,  from  the  bottom  of 
the  steps  of  the  front  porch  of  his  house  at  the  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College.  The  second  lot  which  he  received  he  deposited 
under  a  hickory  tree  standing  16  feet  west  of  his  parlor.  There  are  no 
other  hickory  trees  near  the  two  described. 

Prof.  Eugene  A.  Smith,  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  at  Tuscaloosa, 
Ala.,  placed  the  twigs  sent  him  about  the  roots  of  three  isolated  oaks 
(Quercus  phellos  and  Q.  aquatica)  situated  not  far  from  the  center  of 
the  southeast  quarter  of  the  college  campus.  They  are  the  only  trees 
in  this  southeast  quarter,  except  along  the  fence,  and  there  will  be  no 
difficulty  in  identifying  them. 

The  eggs  sent  Mr.  John  D.  Wilkins,  at  Selma,  Ala.,  were  deposited 
by  him  at  the  foot  of  a  water  oak  (  Q.  aquatica)  which  may  be  reached 
by  commencing  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Second  and  Union  streets, 
Selma,  at  the  fence  corner  on  the  sidewalk  and  measuring  east  along 
Second  street  for  85  feet ;  thence  north  at  right  angles  64  feet  to  the 
tree. 

Miss  M.  E.  Murtfeldt,  at  Kirkwood,  Mo.,  placed  the  twigs  sent  to 
her  under  two  young  apple  trees  standing  somewhat  apart  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Murtfeldt's  orchard  at  Kirkwood  and  too 
close  to  two  division  fences  to  admit  of  the  ground  on  which  they  stand 
being  plowed. 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  of  Mobile.  Ala.,  writes  that  the  experiment  was. 
with  him,  a  probable  failure,  as  nearly  or  quite  all  of  the  eggs  had 
hatched  before  being  placed,  owing  to  his  absence  from  home  when 
received.  The  twigs  were  placed,  however,  under  a  pecan  tree  in  Dr. 
Mohr's  yard  in  Mobile,  and  there  is  a  possibility  that  a  few  larvae  entered 
the  ground  and  that  some  Cicada  ;  will  be  observed  in  1898  or  1902. 


188 


TFTE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Note. — Following  up  the  egg  transferences  above  described  and  also 
discussed  on  pages  16  and  17  of  this  bulletin,  letters  were  sent  to  the 
various  persons  named  who  had  been  charged  with  the  planting  of 
the  eggs  of  the  two  broods,  requesting  that  a  careful  watch  be  kept  the 
present  season  and  any  results  reported  to  this  office. 

Of  the  eggs  of  the  13-year  Brood  VIE  distributed  in  the  north,  reports 
were  received  from  three  localities.  Professor  Oomstock  reports  of  the 
material  sent  to  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  that  he  could  find  no  indication  of  the 
emergence  of  the  Cicada  nor  could  he  find  any  evidence  of  the  larvae  in 
the  soil  by  digging.  A  similar  report  comes  from  Mr.  E.  P.  Felt  relat- 
ing to  the  planting  made  by  Dr.  Lintner  near  Albany,  N.  Y.  Prof. 
Herbert  Osborn  found  no  trace  of  the  insect  at  Ames,  Iowa,  the  two 
localities  being  close  to  his  house  so  that  he  could  examine  them  at 
frequent  intervals.  No  report  was  received  from  Mr.  Samuel  Henshaw 
of  the  plantings  made  in  Essex  County,  Mass. 

Of  the  eggs  of  the  17-year  Brood  XXII  sent  to  various  southern  local- 
ities, reports  were  received  from  two  only,  although  a  report  is  promised 
from  a  third.  Prof.  G.  W.  Herrick,  writing  of  the  planting  made  by 
Dr.  Phares  on  the  grounds  of  tho  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 
of  Mississippi,  says  that  the  two  trees  about  which  the  eggs  were  dis- 
tributed have  been  removed,  root  and  branch,  and  the  likelihood  of  the 
survival  of  the  insect  is  very  small. 

The  only  positive  report  so  far  received  from  all  the  plantings  of  eggs 
comes  from  Prof.  Eugene  A.  Smith,  University  of  Alabama,  who  found 
one  pupal  shell  and  noticed  several  holes  in  the  ground  which  answer 
to  the  description  of  the  exit  openings  made  by  the  Cicada.  The  pupal 
shell  was  sent  to  me  and  proves  to  belong  to  the  periodical  Cicada. 
That  it  comes  from  the  egg  planted  in  1885  seems  probable  from  the 
fact  that  no  brood  is  due  in  this  locality  the  present  year.  This  is  a 
most  interesting  report  because  it  seems  to  indicate  that  the  17-year 
period  may  be  greatly  abbreviated  in  a  warmer  latitude/  It  will  be 
noted  that  part  of  the  eggs  sent  to  Professor  Smith  came  from  Indiana 
and  the  rest  from  Michigan.  In  view  of  the  remarkable  regularity  of 
the  periods  evidenced  by  the  large  broods  of  the  Cicada,  it  is  rather 
unwise  to  give  too  much  importance  to  an  isolated  experience  such  as 
described,  and  during  the  next  four  years  a  careful  watch  should  be 
kept  for  the  appearance  of  adults  which  may  emerge  each  year  up  to 
the  end  of  the  regular  17-year  period  for  the  brood.  This  report  makes 
it  all  the  more  important  to  follow  the  egg  plantings,  both  north  and 
south,  very  carefully  during  the  next  three  or  four  years. 


APPENDIX  B. 


BREEDING  EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE  GROUNDS  OF  THE  DEPART- 
MENT OF  AGRICULTURE. 

SEVEN  TEEN- YEAR  BROOD  XXII,  1885. 

A  quantity  of  twigs  containing  eggs  about  to  hatch  were  collected 
by  Mr.  Theodore  Pergande  in  Virginia,  near  the  District  of  Columbia, 
July  26,  1885.  The  young  began  to  appear  July  28,  and  the  twigs 
were  immediately  distributed  under  four  linden  trees  and  three  oak 
trees  on  the  grounds  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  success 
of  this  experiment  was  considerably  interfered  with  by  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  eggs  and  young  larvae  were  destroyed  by  ants  or  eaten  by 
birds  and  comparatively  few  were  afterwards  found  in  the  soil. 

The  first  examination  of  the  soil  was  made  by  Mr.  Pergande  April 
23,  1887,  digging  under  various  trees  to  the  depth  of  G  to  12  inches  and 
covering  a  surface  of  about  a  yard  square.  But  one  larva  was  found, 
and  that  was  taken  at  a  depth  of  about  6  inches. 

The  second  examination  was  made  October  31,  1888.  The  diggings 
continued  for  two  or  three  days  and  resulted  in  the  unearthing  of  four 
larvae  at  a  depth  of  about  18  inches  in  dry,  hard  soil.  These  were  all 
found  under  the  linden  trees;  under  the  oak  trees  no  larvae  were  found. 

On  November  1,  1888,  the  soil  under  one  of  the  linden  trees  which 
had  not  previously  been  disturbed  was  worked  over  and  some  sixteen 
larvae  were  taken,  mostly  referable  to  the  periodical  Cicada,  at  a  depth  * 
of  from  10  to  12  inches  in  rather  rich  soil.    Below  this  depth  the  soil 
changed  to  sandy. 

On  November  14,  1888,  four  additional  larvae  were  taken  from  the 
same  location  as  the  last. 

On  October  12,  1893,  the  writer  made  extensive  excavations  ranging 
from  a  depth  of  18  inches  to  2  feet  under  the  linden  trees  mentioned, 
with  the  result  of  securing  three  half-grown  larvae.  One  of  these  was 
found  about  inches  below  the  surface  and  the  other  two  were  at  a 
depth  of  9  inches.  Tbese  were  all  found  under  one  tree,  while  the 
extensive  diggings  under  the  other  three  trees  yielded  nothing  except 
some  pupae  of  the  common  annual  species  (Cicada  pruinosa). 

The  adults  should  appear  from  this  planting  in  1902  if  any  of  the 
material  survives.  The  results  of  the  last  investigation,  however,  are 
not  such  as  to  give  much  hope  of  such  an  outcome. 

13(J 


140 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


SEVENTEEN- YEAR  BROOD  VII T,  1889. 

A  very  large  quantity  of  egg-bearing  twigs  of  this  brood  were  received 
at  the  Department  from  various  sources  in  the  summer  of  1889  and  dis- 
tributed under  oak  and  other  trees  on  the  grounds  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

On  'July  19  a  quantity  of  eggs  were  received  from  Mr.  II.  W.  Reeves, 
of  Lebanon,  Ky.  These  were  about  hatching  and  were  distributed 
around  the  base  of  a  large  red-oak  tree  marked  X;  the  others  were 
placed  about  a  burr  oak  similarly  marked  on  a  branch.  The  latter  tree 
was  newly  marked  April  15, 1897,  the  limb  bearing  the  old  mark  having 
been  removed.  On  the  same  date,  July  19,  some  eggs  were  received 
from  Mineral  Springs,  Ohio,  and  placed  about  the  following  trees:  Two 
white-oak  trees,  marked  X  on  a  branch;  one  oak  tree  (Q.  coccinea), 
marked  X  on  the  trunk;  one  Q.  obtusilobaj  similarly  marked. 

July  26  another  lot  of  eggs  was  received  from  Mr.  0.  J.  Cowles,  of 
Wilkesboro,  X.  0.  Many  of  the  eggs  had  already  hatched  and  the 
young  larvae  were  running  about  in  the  barrel  when  received.  The 
twigs,  eggs,  and  larvae  were  all  distributed  together  about  three  oak 
trees,  standing  in  a  triangle,  two  of  which  are  marked  XX  and  one 
marked  XXX. 

July  27  another  lot  of  eggs  was  received  from  Mr.  J.  B.  Lewis,  of 
Eubanks,  Ky.  These  were  placed  about  a  sycamore  tree,  marked  on 
the  upper  side  of  the  branch  with  an  X.  On  the  same  date  a  lot  of 
eggs  were  received  from  Xorth  Carolina,  taken  from  the  following 
trees:  Aj^ple,  peach,  plum,  pear,  chinquapin  oak,  black  oak,  white  oak, 
cedar,  spruce,  mimosa,  holly,  and  sourwood.  These  eggs  were  placed 
under  two  willow  trees,  surrounding  the  trunks  to  a  distance  of  2  or 
3  feet,  and  under  Salix  basfordiana  and  Salix  sp.,  both  marked  with 
an  X.    The  eggs  were  hatching  when  distributed. 

July  19  an  additional  lot  of  eggs  were  received  from  Mineral  Springs, 
Ohio,  and  were  strewn  about  the  base  of  three  white-oak  trees,  marked 
XXXI  on  the  trunk,  and  about  two  other  oaks  (Q.  prinos),  similarly 
marked. 

August  2  Mr.  D.  P.  Oook  sent  a  few  branches  with  eggs  from  Long 
Island,  X.  Y.,  which  were  placed  about  the  base  of  a  small  red-oak 
tree  marked  X.  The  eggs  were  unhatched  when  received  and  the  tree 
has  since  been  removed. 

The  vast  quantity  of  the  eggs  and  young  larvae  represented  in  the 
above  plantings  make  the  probability  of  a  successful  outcome  of  this 
experiment  much  greater  than  any  of  the  earlier  ones.  As  we  have 
already  indicated,  examinations  were  made  at  long-time  intervals  only, 
the  first  being  made  by  the  writer  October  17,  1893,  and  was  of  the 
material  sent  by  Mr.  0.  J.  Cowles,  of  Wilkesboro,  X.  C.  A  very  small 
excavation  under  one  of  the  trees  mentioned  resulted  in  securing 
twenty-three  small  laryse  and  six  of  the  size  of  the  1885  brood,  all 
found  at  depths  varying  from  8  to  18  inches,  the  1889  brood  ranging 


BREEDING  EXPERIMENTS. 


141 


from  8  to  12  inches  below  the  surface.  The  larvae  were  found  in  cells 
about  one-half  inch  long,  and  in  every  instance  bordered  a  rootlet  about 
one- eighth  inch  in  diameter.  In  one  instance  the  beak  of  the  insect 
was  inserted  in  the  root  and  the  punctures  of  the  beak  were  noticed  in 
other  cases.  Under  oak  trees  a  few  yards  distant  about  which  no  eggs 
had  been  distributed,  no  larvre  of  the  1889  brood  were  found,  although 
a  few  apparently  of  the  brood  of  1885  were  found.  The  material 
referred  to  the  1885  brood  is  evidently  the  natural  stock  of  the  soil. 

A  subsequent  examination  was  made  April  14,  1897,  the  diggings 
being  made  under  trees  about  which  the  eggs  from  Mineral  Springs, 
Ohio,  were  distributed  July  29, 1889.  A  few  spadefulls  of  earth  thrown 
out  resulted  in  securing  six  larva4  under  one  tree  and  four  under 
another.  These  larvae  were  in  the  fourth  stage,  as  indicated  elsewhere. 
The  adults  from  this  brood  should  appear,  barring  accidents,  in  1906. 


APPENDIX  C. 


DR.  GIDEON  B.  SMITH'S  CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  PERIODICAL 

CICADA. 

[From  a  copy,  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Morris,  of  Dr.  Smith's  unxmblished  manuscript.] 

It  is  proper  to  remark  in  relation  to  the  districts  in  this  tribe  or 
division  that  there  is  some  uncertainty  in  relation  to  some  of  them 
(as  well  as  to  those  of  the  northern  division)  that  have  their  borders 
on  the  great  line  that  separates  the  two  divisions,  owing  to  the  fact, 
remarked  upon  in  another  place  in  this  work,  that  the  districts  often 
interlock,  those  of  the  northern  running  down  into  the  territory  of  the 
southern  and  those  of  the  southern  running  up  into  that  of  the  northern 
division,  sometimes  for  hundreds  of  miles.  A  remarkable  instance  of 
this  will  be  found  in  the  case  of  the  southern  Illinois  district,  which 
ascends  to  the  north  nearly  three  degrees  of  latitude  above  the  regular 
line  of  division ;  and  also  to  the  lapping  of  one  district  over  another 
on  their  respective  boundaries,  elsewhere  noticed.  The  reader  will, 
therefore,  make  due  allowance  for  such  errors  as  he  may  find  in  the 
dates  of  appearance. 

REGISTER  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  TRIBE  (THIRTEEN-YEAR  LOCUSTS). 

1842.  Illinois. — In  Washington,  Jefferson,  Franklin,  Perry,  Randolph,  Monroe,  St. 

Clair,  Madison,  Bond,  Clinton,  Edwards,  Marion,  and  adjacent  counties  in 
the  southern  end  of  the  State,  in  1829,  1842, 1855,  and  again  in  1868.  Of  this 
there  is  great  doubt  whether  it  belongs  to  the  seventeen-year  tribe,  as  is 
indicated  by  the  following  paragraph  from  the  Baltimore  Sun  of  June  13, 
1859:  "The  locusts  have  made  their  appearance  in  Egypt,  in  southern 
Illinois,  and  cover  woods  and  orchards  in  swarms." 

1842.  Kentucky. — Northwest  corner  of  State,  about  Paducah  and  adjacent  counties 
in  the  south,  in  1829,  1842, 1855,  and  again  in  1868. 

1842.  Alabama. — Russell  and  adjacent  counties  on  the  east  side  of  Black  Warrior 
River,  in  1842, 1855,  and  again  in  1868. 

1842.  Louisiana. — Morehouse  Parish,  Caddo,  Claiborne,  Washita,  and  adjacent  par- 
ishes, in  1855,  and  again  in  1868. 

1842.  Arkansas. — All  the  northern  counties  in  1842,  1855,  1868. 

1842.  South  Carolina. — Chester  district  and  all  adjoining  to  the  Georgia  line  and  to 
North  Carolina  north  [ward]  in  1816, 1829, 1842, 1855, 1868. 

1842.  Tennessee. — Montgomery,  Bedford,  Williamson,  Rutherford  [and  adjacent 
counties],  in  1842,  1855,  and  again  in  1868. 

1842.  Georgia.— Cherokee  County  in  1816, 1829, 1842, 1855, 1868. 

1842.  North  Carolina.—  Mecklenburg  County  in  1816,  1829,  1842,  1855,  1868. 

1842.  Missouri.—  All  southeast  part  in  1829,  1842,  1855,  1868. 

1843.  Georgia. — Habersham  and  Rabun  ( ?)  counties  in  1843, 1856, 1869. 
142 


smith's  chronology 


143 


1843.  Georgia. — Muscogee,  Jasper,  Greene,  Washington,  and  adjacent  counties,  in 

1843,  1856,  1869. 

1844.  Florida. — Jackson,  Gadsden,  and  Washington  counties  in  1841,  1855,  1870. 

1845.  Mississippi. — From  the  Mississippi  River  east  to  a  ridge  that  divides  the  State 

north  and  south,  45  miles  from  the  river,  and  north  and  south  to  the  bound- 
aries of  the  State,  in  1806, 1819, 1832, 1845, 1858. 

1845.  Louisiana.— East  and  West  Feliciana  in  1806, 1819, 1832, 1845, 1858. 

1846.  Georgia. — Gwinnett,  Dekalb,  and  Xewton  counties  in  1846,  1859. 
1846.  Tennessee. — Northern  part  in  1846,  and  again  in  1859. 

1846.  Mississippi. — All  the  east  of  the  State,  from  the  ridge  45  miles  from  the  river 
on  the  west  to  the  east  boundary,  in  1820,  1833,  1846,  1859. 

1849.  Texas. — Appeared  in  some  parts  in  vast  numbers ;  unable  to  get  any  particulars. 
If  true,  will  appear  again  in  1862. 

1854.  Georgia. — Cherokee  County,  northern  part,  in  1828,  1841,  1854,  1867. 

1855.  North  Carolina. — Buncombe  and  McDowell  counties  in  1855. 

[N.  B. — Doubtful  whether  this  is  a  southern  or  northern  district.  They 
appeared  in  1855,  at  all  events,  and  will  again  in  1868  or  1872.] 
1859.  Louisiana. — Carroll  Parish,  May  1. 
1859.  Arkansas. — Phillips  County,  May  10. 
1859.  Tennessee. — About  Memphis. 

REGISTER  OF  THE  NORTHERN  TRIBE. 

1842.  The  locust  appeared  in  North  Carolina  from  Raleigh  to  near  Petersburg,  in 

Virginia,  and  will  appear  again  in  1859. 
1842.  They  appeared  in  the  valley  of  Virginia  from  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  east,  the 

Potomac  River  on  the  north,  to  the  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  lines  on 

the  south,  and  several  counties  in  the  west,  in  1808,  1825,  1842,  and  will 

appear  again  in  1859. 
1842.  Illinois — About  Alton,  and  again  in  1859. 

1842.  Maryland — Southern  part  of  St.  Mary  County,  dividing  the  county  about  mid- 
way east  and  west.    Appeared  there  in  1825,  1842,  and  again  in  1859. 

1842.  North  Carolina — Rowan,  Davie,  Cabarrus,  Iredell,  and  adjacent  counties,  in  1825, 
1842,  and  will  appear  again  in  1859. 

1842.  Indiana — Sullivan  and  Knox  counties  in  1859. 

1843.  New  York  and  Connecticut  from  Long  Island  Sound,  west  side  of  Connecticut 

River,  north  on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson  River  to  Washington  County,  X.  V., 
and  west  to  Montgomery  County  on  the  Mohawk  River.  Appeared  there  in 
1809,  1826, 1843,  and  will  again  in  1860. 

1843.  Michigan. — Kalamazoo;  appeared  in  1843,  and  will  again  in  1860. 

1843.  Indiana. — Dearborn  County;  will  again  in  1860. 

1843.  North  Carolina. — Caldwell  (??  I,  Rockingham,  Stokes,  Guilford,  Rowan.  Surry, 
and  adjacent  counties;  appeared  in  1792,  1809,  1826,  1843,  and  will  again  in 
1860. 

1843.  Pennsylvania. — Hounded  by  Peters  Mountain  on  the  south,  Mahonlago  (?) 
Mountain  on  the  north,  and  extending  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Dela- 
ware River;  appeared  there  in  1843,  and  will  in  1860. 

1843.  New  Jersey.— Whole  State,  in  1775,  1792,  1809,  1826,  1843,  and  again  in  1860. 

1843.  Maryland. — From  Anne  Arundel  County  to  the  north  part  of  St.  Mary,  from 

the  Potomac  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  in  1809,  1826,  1843,  1860. 

1844.  Illinois. — In  Warren  County,  and  will  again  in  1861. 

1844.  Iowa. — In  various  parts,  and  will  again  in  1861. 

1845.  Missouri. — All  the  western  part  of  the  State  from  Saline  County  west,  as  far 

as  heard  from,  north  to  the  boundary  of  the  State  and  south  to  Arkansas  in 
1845,  and  will  again  in  1862. 

20110— No.  U  10 


144 


Til E  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


1816.  Ohio, — Eastern  part,  extending  west  to  Scioto  Rivet  and  Sandusky  on  Lake 
Erie,  extending  over  twelve  counties  in  1829,  1846,  and  again  in  18(53. 

1846.  Virginia.  — Southeastern  part  in  1829,  1846,  and  will  in  1863. 

L846.  Virginia.— Lewis  County,  in  1795,  1812,  1829,  1846,  and  will  in  1*63. 

1847.  About  Wheeling,  in  Virginia,  in  1830,  and  will  again  in  is  17,  1864. 

18-18.  Xew  York. — In  Monroe,  Livingston,  Madison,  and  adjacent  counties  in  1797, 
1814,  1831,  1848,  and  will  in  1865. 

1849.  Pennsylvania. — In  Armstrong.  Clarion,  Jefferson,  Chemung,  Huntingdon,  Cam- 
bria, Indiana,  Butler,  Mercer,  Beaver,  and  in  nearly  all  the  western  counties 
in  1832,  1849,  and  will  in  1866. 

1849.  Ohio.  —  In  Mahoning,  Carroll,  Trumbull,  Columbiana,  and  adjacent  counties, 

especially  in  Columbiana  in  1812.  1829, 1846,  the  eastern  district  lapping  over 
this  in  that  county;  appeared  in  this  district  in  1815,  1832, 1849,  and  will 
in  1866. 

1850.  Virginia.— County  (  ?)  and  adjacent  territory  in  1833,  1850,  and  will  in  1867. 1 

1851.  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware.  Virginia. — Beginning  at  Germantown,  Pa.  J 

south  to  the  middle  of  Delaware:  west  through  the  eastern  shore  of  Mary- 
land, upper  part  of  Anne  Arundel;  west  through  the  District  of  Columbia, 
Loudoun  county,  Va..  where  it  laps  over  the  south  Virginia  district  from  the 
Potomac  to  Loudoun  County  some  10  to  20  miles  in  width,  and  [in]  this  strip 
of  territory  they  appear  every  eighth  and  ninth  year.  Thence  the  line 
extends  through  the  northern  counties  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  to  the 
Savage  Mountain,  and  thence  along  the  southern  tier  of  counties  in  Pennsyl- 
vania to  Germantown.  The  whole  territory  embraced  in  these  boundaries  is 
occupied  by  the  locusts.  Appeared  here  in  1766,  1783,  1800,  1817,  1834,  1851, 
and  will  again  in  1868. 

1851.  Ohio. — Cincinnati;  Franklin,  Columbus;  Piqua,  Miami  County.    This  district 

extends  into  Indiana  to  New  Albany,  Madison,  Indianapolis,  to  the  Wabash 
River,  Terre  Haute,  and  to  Louisville,' Ivy.,  in  1834,  1851;  will  again  in  1868. 

1852.  Massachusetts. — Bristol  County,  Dearfield,  Hampshire,  and  to  Fall  Paver  in 

1767,  1784,  1801,  1818,  1835, 1852.  and  will  in  1869. 

1853.  Oh io.—  Vinton  County  in  1853,  and  will  in  1870. 

1853.  Illinois. — In  Jo  Daviess  County,  and  will  in  1870. 

1854.  Illinois. — In  Winnebago,  Menard  County,  and  neighborhood  in  1854;  again  in 

1871. 

1855.  Maryland. — On  the  old  Liberty  Road  leading  to  Carroll,  and  Adams  County, 

Pa.,  and  on  the  Winden  (?)  Mile  Road  extending  to  Carlisle,  Pa.,  in  1838, 
1855,  and  in  1872. 

1855.  Kentucky. — About  Frankfort,  Lexington,  and  Flemingsburg,  extending  to 
Meigs  and  Galia  counties,  Ohio,  in  1838,  1855,  and  in  1872. 

1855.  Maryland. — Eastern  Shore  from  Cecil  County  to  Worcester  in  1838,  1855,  and 
in  1872. 

1855.  Massachusetts.— Barnstable  County  in  1770,  1787,  1804,  1821,  1838,  1855,  and  in 
1872. 

1855.  Virginia. — Kanawha  County,  extending  only  15  miles  each  way,  in  1838,  1855, 
and  in  1872. 

1855.  North  Carolina.— In  Buncombe  and  McDowell  counties  in  1855;  again  in  1872. 

[N.  B. — There  is  some  doubt  whether  this  district  is  not  a  13-year  district. 
The  locusts  appeared  there  in  1855,  at  all  events.] 

[Xote  ox  the  Smith  Register. — An  examination  of  the  above  register  of  appear- 
ances, prepared  by  Dr.  Gideon  B.  Smith,  at  once  indicates  the  painstaking  care 
which  Dr.  Smith  must  have  devoted  to  the  subject,  and  surprises  one  with  the 

JThis  evidently  refers  to  Brood  XXI,  which  is  known  from  eleven  counties  in  Vir- 
ginia (see  p.  33). 


smith's  chronology. 


145 


accuracy  and  completeness  of  the  records.  All  of  the  broods  as  now  known  are 
designated  more  or  less  completely  in  Dr.  Smith's  register,  namely,  the  seven  13-year 
broods  and  the  fourteen  17-year  broods. 

Taking  the  records  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  given  in  Dr.  Smith's  register, 
and  beginning  with  the  13-year  race,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  localities  listed  after 
1842  and  1855  refer  to  Brood  XVIII,  after  1843  to  Brood  II,  and  similarly  1844  to 
Brood  IV,  1845  to  Brood  VI,  1846  and  1859  to  Brood  VII,  1819  to  Brood  X.  and  1854 
to  Brood  XVI. 

Comparing  in  the  same  way  his  register  of  the  northern  tribe,  or  17-year  race,  it  is 
seen  that  his  localities  listed  after  1842  apply  to  Brood  XI,  after  1843  to  Brood  XII, 
and  similarly  1844  to  Brood  XIII,  1845  to  Brood  XIV,  1846  to  Brood  XV,  1847  to  Brood 
XVII,  1848  to  Brood  XIX,  1849  to  Brood  XX,  1850  to  Brood  XXI,  1851  to  Brood  XXII, 

1852  to  Brood  I,  1854  to  Brood  V,  and  1855  to  Brood  VIII.    The  records  given  after 

1853  do  not  fall  into  the  chronology  of  the  known  17-year  broods,  and  are  either 
erroneous  or  of  a  brood  the  existence  of  which  has  not  been  confirmed  by  subsequent 
records.— C.  L.  M.] 


APPEXDTX  1). 


RECORDS  FOR  1898  OF  BROODS  VII  AND  XVII. 

A  very  systematic  and  thorough  canvass  was  made  of  all  the  States 
in  which  either  Brood  VII  or  Brood  XVII  were  expected  this  year.  A 
circular  detailing  the  distribution  of  the  two  broods  was  sent  out,  with 
reply  card,  to  the  regular  correspondents  of  the  Division  and  also  to 
the  much  more  numerous  correspondents  of  the  Division  of  Statistics 
of  the  Department.  Between  twelve  and  fifteen  hundred  replies  were 
received  in  response  to  the  circular,  and  while  most  of  them  were  neg- 
ative, many  positive  records  were  obtained  which  very  considerably 
extend  and  modify  the  knowledge  of  the  range  of  these  two  broods. 

The  results  of  this  canvass  are  summarized  below  by  States  and 
counties  for  each  brood.  The  counties  marked  with  a  star(*)  indicate 
those  in  which  the  Cicada  was  abundant,  in  many  cases  several  reports 
being  received  from  the  same  county.  In  the  unstarred  counties  the 
Cicada  was  reported  in  few  or  scattering  numbers,  or  at  least  as  not 
abundant.  This  was  the  character  of  the  records  for  the  most  part  of 
Brood  XVII,  in  many  localities  only  a  few  specimens  being  observed. 
It  is  quite  probable  also  that  the  records  for  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  and 
Virginia  in  some  cases  are  based  on  stragglers  from  Brood  XV,  which 
occurred  in  1897.  Dense  swarms  of  Brood  XVII  were,  however, 
reported  from  the  mountain  counties  of  Xorth  Carolina,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Georgia,  and  the  limits  of  this  brood,  in  this  portion  of  its 
range,  are  now  determined  with  fair  accuracy  for  the  first  time.  The 
reports  from  the  mountain  counties  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  belong 
undoubtedly,  also,  to  Brood  XVII.  A  number  of  strong  swarms  of  this 
brood  are  reported  in  Wisconsin,  and  several  in  Illinois.  Some  of  the 
latter  may,  however,  belong  to  Brood  VII.  The  reports  from  northern 
Michigan  (Chippewa  and  Houghton  counties)  and  from  northern  Wis- 
consin (Burnett,  Sawyer,  and  Washington  counties)  carry  the  range  of 
the  Cicada  farther  north  than  auy  of  the  old  records. 

The  reports  of  Brood  VII  nearly  all  indicate  the  occurrence  of  the 
insect  in  enormous  numbers.  Unfortunately,  however,  there  enters 
again  with  this  brood  some  doubt  as  to  the  correct  reference  of  some 
of  the  localities  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  perhaps  northern  Missouri,  or, 
in  other  words,  where  the  territory  occupied  by  the  two  races  overlaps. 
In  most  of  the  records  assigned  to  this  brood,  however,  in  the  States 
mentioned  the  evidence  points  pretty  strongly  to  the  accuracy  of  the 
reference.  When  the  reference  is  uncertain  a  query  follows  the  county. 
146 


RECORDS  FOR  1898  OF  BROODS  VII  AND  XVII. 


147 


The  records  assigned  to  Brood  XVII  in  North  Carolina,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Georgia,  and  in  western  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  can  not  be 
questioned.  The  counties  represented  are  in  the  main  in  an  elevated 
mountainous  district,  and  the  fact  that  the  Cicada  is  of  the  17-year 
race  is  established  by  the  elevation  and  by  the  earlier  records. 

Beports  are  still  being*  received  (June  20),  but  in  the  main  these 
duplicate  records  already  made.  Local  investigations  Lave  also  been 
undertaken  by  entomologists  in  several  of  the  States,  the  result  of 
which  will  doubtless  add  considerably  to  the  knowledge  of  the  distri- 
bution of  these  two  broods. 

Record  of  Brood  XVII  for  1898. 

Delaware. — Newcastle. 

District  of  Columbia. — City  and  parks. 

Georgia. — Dade,"  Elbert,  Habersham,*  Hall,    rankling-.  Rabun,*  White. 
Illinois. — Dewitt,*  Knox,  McLean.  Montgomery.  Scott,  Shelby,"  Vermilion. 
Indiana. — Boone,  Brown,  Carroll,  Grant,  Johnson.  Laporte,  Wells. 
Kentucky. — Letcher.  * 

Maryland. — Carroll,  Cecil,  Montgomery.  Prince  George. 

Michigan. — Barry,  Chippewa,  Genesee,*  Houghton,*  Newaygo  (?),  Otsego,"  Shia- 
wassee.* 

North  Carolina. — Alexander,*  Bladen,  Burke,*  Buncombe,  Cabarrus.  Caldwell,* 
Catawba,*  Henderson,*  Iredell,  Lincoln. ~  Macon,*  McDowell.*  Montgomery. 
Moore,  Pender,"  Polk,*  Rutherford,  Swain,*  Transylvania,*  Union,*  Wilkes,* 
Wilson  (?).* 

Nt  w  Ji  rsey. — Bergen,  Cumberland,  Middlesex,  Somerset. 
New  York. — Kings,  Richmond,  Schenectady. 

Ohio. — Carroll,  Champaign,  Delaware,  Franklin,  Madison.  Mahoning,  Montgomery, 

Morrow,  Pickaway,  Shelby,  L'nion. 
Pennsylvania. — Bucks.  Montgomery,  Westmoreland. 
South  Carolina. — Oconee.* 

Tennessee. — Bradley,  Greene,  Grundy,*  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  Knox.  Meigs.  Polk. 
Virginia. — Charlotte,  Chesterfield,  Fairfax,  Powhatan.  Prince  Edward. 
West  Virginia. — Berkeley,  Hampshire,  Jefferson.  Mineral,  Preston,  Webster. 
Wisconsin. — Burnett,*  Crawford,  Fond  du  Lac,  Green  Lake,*  Sauk/  Sawyer.  Wash- 
burn, Waushara.  * 

Record  of  Brood  VII  for  1898. 

Arkansas. — Arkansas,*  Ashley,  Calhoun,  Carroll,  Chicot.*  Clark,"  Columbia,*  Craig- 
head, Crawford,  Crittenden,*  Cross,*  Desha,*  Garland,4"  Hot  Spring,*  Howard, 
Jefferson,*  Lafayette,'  Lee,*  Logan,  Lonoke,*  Marion,  Mississippi,*  Monroe,* 
Newton,  Phillips,*  Pike,"  Poinsett.*  Prairie,*  Pulaski,  Randolph,  St.  Francis,* 
Saline,*  Sebastian,  sharp,  Union.  Van  Buren,*  Washington,  Woodruff.* 

Florida. — Volusia  (f). 

Illinois. — Alexander.*  Crawford,*  Edgar.  Edwards,*  Gallatin.  Hardin,*  Jackson,* 
Jasper,*  Jefferson,  Lawrence,*  Perry,*  Pulaski,*  Richland.  St.  Clair.  Union,* 
Wabash,*  Washington,  Wayne' 

Indiana. — Daviess,* Gibson,*  Jackson,*  Jennings,  Knox,*  Montgomery,  Owen,  Posey,* 
Putnam,  Ripley.  Spencer,  Sullivan.*  Vanderburg,*  Vigo.  Warrick.* 

Kentucky. — Ballard,*  Butler,  Caldwell,  Carlisle."  Clinton.  Crittenden.  Daviess,  Ful- 
ton,* Grant,  Graves,*  Green,  Hancock  Hardin,  Hopkins,  Livingston,  Lyon, 
Muhlenberg,  Ohio,  Trigg, -  Wolfe." 


148 


THE  PERIODICAL  CICADA. 


Louisiana. — Bienville, *  Caldwell,*  Claiborne,  Concordia,*  East  Carroll,*  Franklin,* 
Madison,  Morehouse,  Ouachita,  Pointe  Coupee,"  Richland,  Tangipahoa,  Ten- 
sas,* West  Carroll,* 

Mississippi. — Alcorn,*  Amite,*  Attala,*  Benton,*  Bolivar,*  Calhoun,*  Carroll,*  Clai- 
borne, Copiah,*  Coahoma/'  De  Soto, *  Grenada,*  Hinds,  Holmes,*  Itawamba, 
Lafayette,*  Lawrence,  Leake,  Lee,*  Leflore,*  Lowndes,  Lincoln,*  Madison,* 
Marshall,*  Montgomery,*  Neshoba,  Newton,  Oktibbeha,*  Panola,*  Pike,*  Pon- 
totoc,* Prentiss,*  Quitman,*  Rankin,*  Tallahatchie,*  Tate,*  Tippah,  Tunica," 
Union,*  Warren,*  Washington,*  Webster,*  Yalobusha,*  Yazoo.* 

Missouri. — Barry,* Camden,  Cape  Girardeau,*  Cedar,  Clark  ( ?),  Cole,  Cooper,  Douglas, 
Gasconade,  Greene,  Iron,  Linn,  Maries,*  Miller,  Morgan,  New  Madrid,*  Osage,* 
Ozark,  Pemiscot,*  Perry,*  Phelps,  Pulaski,  Scott,*  St.  Charles,*  St.  Clair,  St. 
Francois,  Warren,  Washington,*  Webster. 

Tennessee. — Benton,*  Carroll,*  Chester,*  Crockett,  Decatur,*  Dickson,*  Dyer, '  Fay- 
ette,* Gibson,*  Hardeman,*  Hardin,*  Haywood,  Henderson,*  Humphreys,* 
Lake,*  Lauderdale,*  Lewis,  McNairy,*  Madison,*  Obion,*  Perry,*  Rutherford, 
Shelby,*  Stewart,  Tipton,*  Weakley,*  Wayne,*  Williamson. 


O 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


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